Ancient Temples of Gyeongju: Bulguksa and Seokguram Grotto

The birthday of the historical Buddha (according to the Lunar calendar), will be celebrated on May 19 this year, so it’s a good week to continue our theme of exploring Buddhism in South Korea. Buddhism originated in India and was introduced to China via the Silk Road in the 1st century CE. It then spread to the Korean Peninsula in the 3rd century and subsequently to Japan. Korean Buddhism is a distinct branch in the Mahayana tradition, having developed its own line of thought distinct from the ideas that originally traveled from India. The Jogye and Taego Orders represent most of Korean Buddhism.

With the rise of Confucianism during Korea’s Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910 CE), Buddhist practices were outlawed in the cities and driven into the mountains. Because of this, it is nearly impossible to spend any length of time on or near Korean mountains without stumbling across a Buddhist shrine or temple.

Gyeongju, one of Korea’s most historic cities, is also home to one of its most historic temples, Bulguksa (불국사). A large and important temple, Bulguksa represents many of the elements we have seen in Korean temples during our numerous mountain treks. Fresh off our Temple Stay experience, we spent a whole day visiting Bulguksa and hiking to nearby Seokguram Grotto (석굴암).

Bulguksa (불국사)

Bulguksa, on Mt. Toham in Gyeongju, is the head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, and its name literally means “World of Buddha Temple.” It is said to be one of the greatest examples of Silla-era architecture (668–935 CE) and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Moreover, the South Korean government has named it as the country’s historic and scenic site No. 1. It is certainly one of the largest temples we have visited in Korea, with extensive grounds that took us a couple of hours to visit.

Every sizeable Korean temple has a gate through which you enter, typically housing the guardians of the four directions, also called the Four Heavenly Kings. Occasionally, they are painted or otherwise represented in two dimensions. Often, they are full-sized statues. In any form, they typically look very fierce, and each guardian holds an item associated with the direction it represents (north, south, east, or west). They are meant to protect against evil and are not intended to frighten friendly visitors!

Immediately upon entering the main temple site, it’s clear that this place has been around for a while. Two staircases leading up to the main Buddha Hall remain from the original temple, having been built in the mid-8th century. Each has 33 stairs, representing the 33 stages to enlightenment. Today, the courtyard around the staircases is bustling, with visitors snapping photos of the staircases and purchasing prayer beads and other souvenirs from vendors in the area.

Colorful lotus lanterns decorated numerous areas of the temple during our visit, allowing visitors the opportunity to write a wish or a prayer that is then hung from a lantern. Buddhists also can give money to the temple to request that the monks say special prayers on their behalf. Often, offerings of coins, rice, fruit, wine, and even bottles of water are left at the temple shrines by those who have come to pray.

One section of the temple grounds was devoted to doltap, stone stacks that are commonly seen around Korea, and very often are present at temples and along mountain paths. In a Buddhist context, the stones are said to represent prayers or wishes of believers. In Korean folk ritual, however, this practice may pre-date Buddhism and began with the belief that the stacks would ward off evil spirits.

Bulguksa had plenty of visitors while we were there and is one of the largest temples we’ve visited in Korea. However, it was still very peaceful, with tourists mostly keeping quiet for those who had come to pray.

Many of the larger temples have a café serving coffees as well as traditional teas and snacks. As the traditional teas (usually made of fruits or berries) typically are made on-site, this can be a good place to try them. Feeling refreshed, we were ready for our short hike up to Seokguram Grotto.

Seokguram Grotto (석굴암)

Seokguram Grotto (Sokkuram) is an 8th-century Buddhist cave shrine, built into a rocky mountainside above Bulguksa. Established during the Silla Dynasty, it is considered as one of the best creations of Buddhist art in East Asia. Because of its historical relevance, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.

It’s possible to hike from Bulguksa to Seokguram Grotto in one hour (one way). For those who prefer not to walk so far or who are short on time, there is also a bus. We, of course, chose the hike! The path from Bulguksa to Seokguram is a steady incline of well-maintained trail, with some wide stone stairs and a few wooden staircases.

After a 2.2-km walk, you come to a parking lot (where the bus drops you off if you choose not to walk) with vendors selling snacks and local products, and there are public restrooms. There is also a large temple bell you can ring for 1000 KRW. From this point, the trail continues up through the temple gate for Seokguram Grotto, another .5km walk.

The shrine itself is small but colorful, and the views of the surrounding mountains and back over the East Sea make for a memorable setting. Only a few people can fit into the very small shrine at a time, so there can be a line waiting to enter. Most people moved through quickly, but some folks may take longer as they came to pray.

It’s not really possible to take a photo inside of the shrine, unfortunately. First of all, you’re not supposed to take photos inside, and secondly, the statues are behind glass to protect them from the elements, which would make photography difficult in any event. Behind the glass, a very large Buddha statue is surrounded by dozens of statues of lesser deities, and from inside you can see that the shrine really is built into a cave. The outdoor scenery is most impressive anyway, with strange rock formations visible on the mountain behind the shrine, and views of the mountains and the distant sea in front.

After hiking back down through Bulguksa, we found a large collection of restaurants serving traditional Korean fare just beyond the main bus stop. This was perfect for our post-hiking late lunch needs. Though we had managed to take the bus from Gyeongju to Bulguksa, we opted to take a taxi back to town just to save time. Both options worked fine, but the bus doesn’t come frequently so makes for difficult planning.

Feeling a little more knowledgeable about ancient Korean history, we ended our Gyeongju adventure and made the easy train trip back to Seoul.

Want to see more photos of Bulguksa and Seokguram Grotto? You can access our whole Gyeongju album here.