Efforts to restore the Bulguk Temple’s Seokga Pagoda are under way.

The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage began the restoration after holding a briefing Thursday to mark the beginning of the pagoda's dismantlement for repairs.

Restoration of the Seokga Pagoda, which is South Korean national treasure number 21, is set to be completed in 2014.

The decision to take down the pagoda for restoration was reached in December 2010 shortly after a crack measuring one-point-three meters long and five millimeters wide was found in the upper part of the building during a routine safety check.