A small but noble pantheon of divinities symbolizing Buddhist philosophy and aestheticism, Seokguram is a structure of sublime beauty culminating religious belief, science and fine arts, which flowered in the golden age of Asian art.
Overlooking the East Sea far ahead beyond the mountain ridges from the southeastern tip of the Korean Peninsula, Seokguram stands as a proud testimony to Korea’s brilliant tradition of classical Buddhist sculpture. A small but noble pantheon of divinities symbolizing Buddhist philosophy and aestheticism, the eighth-century cave temple is a structure of sublime beauty culminating religious belief, science and fine arts, which flowered in the golden age of Asian art.
Seokguram is located near the summit of Mt. Tohamsan, east of the historic city of Gyeongju, capital of the Silla Kingdom (57B.C.-A.D.935).
It is reached after an hour-long walk up a steep, winding mountain path over some four km from Bulguksa, another famous temple dating to the eighth century when Silla was at the peak of its strength. The capital of Silla rivalled in splendor the Dang capital of Jangan and its culture shared in the international character of Dang at this time when all of East Asia enjoyed unprecedented peace and prosperity.
Buddhism first reached Korea in the fourth century through China but it truly flowered only after the court of Silla officially recognized it as the state religion.
After Silla unified the peninsula in the mid-seventh century by conquering the rival states of Goguryeo and Baekje, Buddhism not only served a religious function but was looked upon as a protective force. Temples of magnificent scale were erected in and around Gyeongju as they were regarded as a supernatural defense against external threats and bastions of national consciousness.
According to the scant historical records available today, both Seokguram and Bulguksa, the two supreme accomplishments of Silla Buddhist architecture, were built under the supervision of Kim Dae-seong, who came from the royal family and served as prime minister under the reign of King Gyeongdeok.
The construction began in 742, the year after Kim resigned from his top position in court. He died in 774 without seeing the completion of the historic projects several years later under the reign of King Hyegong. As a complement to Bulguksa, which was dedicated to the present generation, the granite temple of Seokguram is said to have been intended to honor those who had been Kim’s parents in his previous life. Whoever the patron or whatever the motivation, Seokguram was apparently designed as a private chapel for royalty considering its scale, philosophical depth and aesthetic standard, whereas Bulguksa, a grand complex of various worship halls and pagodas, was intended as a state monastery to serve the public.
Too small and cozy to have been conceived as a place for congregation in spite of the enormous resources required for its construction, the grotto shrine represents a pinnacle of religious sculpture not only in Korea but in all of East Asia.
One of Korea’s most popular tourist destinations drawing thousands of visitors from home and abroad daily, Seokguram recalls the long journey Buddhism made from its homeland of India through central Asia and China to Korea.
A gem of ancient Buddhist architecture punctuating the eastern terminal of the Silk Road, the shrine testifies to the enthusiasm and sacrifice of early Korean monk pilgrims who risked their lives to experience firsthand the exotic traditions of their faith in the far off land of India. Buddhist grottos are generally believed to have originated in ancient India.
They are divided largely into two kinds according to form and purpose: caitya, literally a “sanctuary” or a hall containing a sacred object to be worshipped such as a small stupa or a Buddha image; and vihara, a onastery or shelter for monks, often with chapels for images or a stupa placed in the central court which also served as a place for instruction. Grottos in the caitya style were later adopted by the Chinese in the hundreds of caves stretching over a mile along the cliffs of Dunhuang and the sandstone hills of Yungang.
Seokguram, with a rectangular antechamber leading to a circular domed main chamber, resembles ancient Indian cave temples.
Though inspired by the cave temples of ancient India and China, Seokguram differs in construction to its prototypes which were mostly built by digging into hillsides and carving on natural rocks. Korea’s topographical features comprising solid rock beds probably made it impossible to import the idea of the sculptors of Karle or Ajanta, who carved thousands of figures, stupas and apse ends out of the soft conglomerate rock and clay.
Instead, an incredible artificial cave was assembled with granite on the heights of a mountain some 750meters above sea level, an architectural technique without precedent the world over.
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