Divine Bell Emile Jong resonating in the hearts and souls of Koreans for 1250 years

During the golden days of Silla Kingdom in the 8th century following the unification of Korean kingdoms, the national religion Buddhism took Silla to a whole new set of heights.

Peace and prosperity were expressed in the creation of the finest Silla Buddhist treasures, some of which have survived centuries of tumultuous history.

A trifecta of Buddhist treasures; Buddha's home, body and voice were completed by 771 in Silla, when the "Divine Bell of King Seongdeok the Great" was successfully casted after decades of failed efforts.

The deep and lasting ringing sounds of the "Divine Bell" resonating in the hearts and minds of those nearby, was to "transcend believers directly to the 'world of truth'" as it was inscribed on the Divine Bell. (일승원음一乘圓音).

Silla stonemasons, along with better known Baekje artists, created the one of a kind 3.5-meter tall stone Buddha at the Seokguram Grotto in the middle of the 8th century.

Buddha's house at the Bulguksa Temple had already been built in 528.

Ringing sound of the "Divine Bell of King Seongdeok the Great", also known as the "Bell of Bongdeoksa Temple", named after the original home of the bronze bell, was heard far and wide in Silla kingdom.

A dragon named Poh-reh (포뢰) sits on top of the bell crown. "Poh-reh, a mythical dragon, is afraid of whales and its scream is the sound of the bell when it is struck with a piece of lumber shaped like a whale." said Professor Han Jung-ho, an expert in Buddhism art at Dongguk University.

Silla King Seongdeok's third son the 35th King of Silla Gyeongdeok wanted to dedicate the giant bell to honor his father who is described on the Divine Bell as "King Seongdeok whose virtue was as high as a mountain and as deep as the sea", but he never saw the completed bell.

It took Gyeongdeok's only son, the grandson of King Seongdeok, the 36th King Hyegong of Silla to finally complete the making of the Divine Bell after 34 years of trying, in 771.

The man who oversaw the successful bell founding of the Divine Bell was no other than the future 37th King Seondeok of Silla who reigned from 780 to 785.

Seondeok, whose birth name was Kim Yang-san, a member of the Jingol caste aristocracy, served as the top minister to the 36th King Hyegong (765–780) while overseeing the completion of the making of the Divine Bell.

King Hyegong, who became a king at age 7, endured multiple mutinies during his 16-year reign. Hyegong was killed at age 23, during a mutiny led by Kim Yang-san, who became the next monarch as the 37th King Seondeok of Silla.

Casting such a giant bell with 18.9 tons of molten metal for the 12 feet (3.66 m) tall bell that is almost 10 inches (25 cm) thick at its thickest parts, seem like an impossible task in the 8th century even with pulling know hows from experts from all four Korean kingdoms which Silla had united.

The Gaya Confederacy was first to be absorbed into the Silla dynasty in 562, with major historical figures such as General Kim Yu-sin, who led the unification of the Korean Peninsula, came from Gaya aristocracy and joined the Silla Jingol caste.

The Baekje Empire was no match for the united Silla/Tang forces in 660. As was the vast Goguryeo Kingdom whose territory stretched more than 2000 miles in all directions when it broke apart in 668 and re-establish itself as Balhae in 698.

The Divine Bell of King Seongdeok the Great has weathered 1250 years of outdoors elements since 771 bellfounding.

The location of the bellfoundry has been forgotten in history but researchers located ancient Bronze Age metal processing sites widely scattered in an area covering 20,000 pyong (66116 square meters).

A team of Korean research scientists and engineers of wide spectrum from 12 areas of discipline, led an extensive research into the Divine Bell in 1996.

Metals can weaken and break when they are repeatedly frozen and thawed, but the Divine Bell's composition has some secrets to its longevity.

Cutting edge analysis of the Divine Bell by a team of researcher at the Research Institute of Industrial Science & Technology (RIST 포항산업과학연구원) released an analysis of the composition of the Divine Bell.

A legend which gave the Divine Bell its other name Emile Jong (Emile Bell) which said a child was sacrificed in the making of the Bell, was found not to be true, at least according to metal composition analysis.

It's mostly made of copper, about 80% and tin, zinc, lead and sulfur make up the rest of the Bell.

The presence of sulfur may play a role in the Bell not breaking up, according to one of the researchers.

The deep and lasting resonance of the Divine Bell's ringing sound was found to be mostly two low frequencies in 64 Hz range causing the beating phenomenon.

A periodic variation in vibration occurs when a symmetrical combination of two harmonic waves of slightly different frequencies 64.06Hz and 64.38Hz resonate in the bell which causes the lasting and repeating sound of the bell.

A concave opening on the ground which is an echo chamber design under the Divine Bell that was meant to send the ringing sounds into the underworld, further amplifies the sound of the Divine Bell.

Another unique feature of Silla bell design is a high-frequency chamber tube at the top of the bell which absorbs the high pitch frequencies.

The high-frequency chamber tube is designed around a mythical dragon named Poh-reh (포뢰) which has an 8cm diameter opening arch to hang the 18.9 ton bell to the belltower.

When the Divine Bell of King Seongdeok was moved to its current belltower at the National Museum of Korea in Gyeongju on May 27, 1975, engineers were confronted with a mathematical quandary.

Engineers calculated the weight of the Divine Bell and the force created when the bell is struck while being hung from the new belltower. A steel rod which can hold up the weight of the bell was tested and a new modern steel rod was cut to specifications to hold the weight of the bell.

Everything came to a halt when the new metal rod would not fit through the 8cm diameter opening of the dragon arch called Yong-ryu (용류) at the top of the bell crown. The new rod was no smaller than 15cm in diameter and could not be used.

The Engineers had to use the original metal rod which they believe was made during the Joseon era when the previous bell tower was built when the original Bongdeoksa Temple was washed away during a great flood of 1460.

Researchers still have no idea how ancient Koreans were able to make such a strong piece of steel rod that cannot be reproduced.

The flood was not the only life-threatening event the Divine Bell endured.

During the Joseon dynasty when Neo-Confucianism was the rule of the land, much of the Buddhist bronze bells around the country were repurposed into copper coins and military weapons.

King Sejong the Great had to step in and issued a decree in 1424 "not to destroy the Bell of Bongdeuksa Temple." according to Joseon Sillok, the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea.

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