Seokguram

Interesting facts

The grotto was first known as Seokbulsa, meaning Stone Buddha Temple, before taking its present name.

Some 40 figures were originally carved for the sanctuary; 38 of them survive today.

The main Buddha sits on a lotus pedestal 1.34 metres high, made in three parts with a central shaft of eight pillars.

The Eleven-faced Avalokitesvara behind the Buddha stands 2.18 metres tall and holds a vase with a lotus blossom.

Repairs to the grotto are recorded in 1703 and 1758, long before the colonial-era dismantling of the twentieth century.

In the 1920s restorers coated the concrete shell with waterproof asphalt, which worsened the damp, and in 1927 the sculptures were cleaned with hot steam.

Drainage pipes were buried above the dome in 1917 to carry rainwater away, but the leaks continued regardless.

Seokguram was designated a National Treasure of South Korea in 1962, decades before its World Heritage listing.

Scholars still debate the geometry behind the plan, with proposals ranging from the golden rectangle to root-two and root-three proportions.

Why it is worth it

Seokguram is not a cave the earth made but one that people built to look like one. On the slopes of Tohamsan above Gyeongju, some 750 metres above sea level and facing the East Sea, craftsmen of the Unified Silla kingdom assembled an artificial grotto out of hundreds of cut granite blocks. Korea's hard granite resists the kind of cliff carving practised in India and China, so instead of hollowing out a mountain they constructed a stone chamber. No mortar holds it together: the blocks are locked with stone rivets, and the original design relied on natural ventilation. Tradition credits Kim Daeseong with the project, begun in 751 and completed by the court in 774.

The layout leads the visitor from an antechamber through a narrow corridor into a domed rotunda roughly 6.6 to 6.8 metres across. At its centre sits a granite Buddha about 3.5 metres tall on a lotus pedestal, most likely Shakyamuni at the moment of enlightenment. Rather than a halo attached to the head, a carved lotus roundel on the back wall creates one by perspective when the figure is seen from the entrance. Around him the walls carry reliefs of bodhisattvas, ten disciples, the Hindu gods Brahma and Indra, guardian kings and, directly behind the Buddha, an Eleven-faced Avalokitesvara, the only relief shown facing forward. Seokguram is counted among the finest Buddhist sculpture anywhere, and since 1995 it has shared a UNESCO World Heritage listing with Bulguksa temple, about 3 km away.

Its later history is a lesson in how restoration can harm. Neglected under the Confucian Joseon dynasty, the grotto was dismantled and rebuilt by the Japanese colonial administration in 1913–1915 and wrapped in concrete, which trapped moisture and made the stone sweat. A major restoration in the 1960s brought mechanical climate control and a wooden entrance hall whose authenticity is still debated. Today the rotunda is seen through a glass screen, which protects the sculptures from breath and temperature swings. Many visitors come for sunrise over the sea near the Buddha's perch, as pilgrims once climbed here from Bulguksa at the foot of the mountain.

Getting there

Seokguram lies about 13.5 km from the centre of Gyeongju, the old Silla capital, and roughly 3 km from Bulguksa, which makes the two a natural pair for one day. The nearest airport is Ulsan (USN), about 22 km away as the crow flies. The grotto interior can only be viewed from behind glass.

From the encyclopaedia

Seokguram is a hermitage and part of the Bulguksa temple complex in Gyeongju, South Korea. It and Bulguksa are both on the mountain Tohamsan, although the two are separated by distance of around 3 kilometres (1.9 mi). The grotto overlooks the East Sea and rests 750 meters above sea level. In 1962, it was designated as a National Treasure of South Korea. In 1995, Seokguram was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List together with the Bulguksa Temple. It exemplifies some of the best Buddhist sculptures in the world.

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Seokguram

Interesting facts

Why it is worth it

Getting there

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From the encyclopaedia