A project has begun to restore a one-thousand-400-year-old stone pagoda.
 
The Cultural Heritage Administration held a launch ceremony on Tuesday for the restoration of the pagoda, located at Mireuk Temple in Iksan, North Jeolla Province.
   
The administration said the 19-point-five billion-won project will restore the pagoda to its original form by 2016.
 
The pagoda, National Treasure No. 11, is the oldest and largest among existing stone pagodas in Korea. Part of the historical relic began to collapse in the Joseon Dynasty era and was repaired with concrete during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Cultural authorities began to dismantle it for restoration in 2001.