Seokguram Hermitage is a stone cave artificially created by assembling white granite stone on the middle of Tohamsan Mountain and was influenced by stone cave temples in India and China.Seokguram Hermitage, located about 2km up from Bulguksa Temple to the middle of Tohamsan Mountain, is designated as National Treasure No. 24 and was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with Bulguksa Temple in 1995.
In the center of Seokguram Grotto, which started construction in 751 during the reign of King Gyeongdeok, the 35th king of Silla, and took about 30 years to complete, is enshrined at the center of Seokguram Grotto, which was carved out of a huge white granite with a height of 3.48 meters. It is enshrined in the direction of the tomb of the great king in the East Sea, where legend is told that the great king was reincarnated as a sea dragon and saved Silla from foreign enemies.
After passing Iljumun Gate, a gentle downhill course of about 600m begins to reach Seokguram Grotto. After walking for a while on the green mountain path, you will come to a slightly wide open space. There, the stairs in the front are where you can take a commemorative photo with Seokguram in the background, and the wooden building you see over the stairs is Seokguram.
Next to the information board explaining about Seokguram, there is a staircase leading to Seokguram, and on the left halfway up the stairs, there are stones left from repairing Seokguram.
When you enter the wooden building of Seokguram Grotto where you can see the East Sea in the distance, there is a 3.48-meter-tall Seated Sakyamuni Buddha made during the Unified Silla period in the 8th century.
There are statues of eight gods and kings on the left and right walls of Seokguram’s front room and entrance. In the passageway, including the four heavenly kings, there are about 40 stone statues inside the round stone ceiling dome that symbolizes the universe and is a metaphor for the Buddha’s world of enlightenment.
Currently, glass walls have been built to preserve cultural properties, and visitors can enter the wooden exhibition room and view the interior of Seokguram through the glass only.
When you go down the stairs after visiting Seokguram Grotto, there is Sugwangjeon where Buddha Amitabha is enshrined, and when you go down the stairs again, there are stones left from repairing Seokguram and tiled tiles where you write your wishes on the tiles and donate them.
In Seokguram Square, where you can look up at Seokguram Grotto, there is a small shop where you can drink nectar before entering the temple and buy Buddhist items.
| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Seokguram Temple 석굴암 |
| Address | 999 Jinhyeon-dong, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do 경상북도 경주시 진현동 999 |
| Telephone | 054-746-9933 |
| Admission Fees | 6,000 won for adults, 4,000 won for teenagers, and 3,000 won for children |
| Site | http://www.sukgulam.org/ |
How to go：From Gyeongju Station or Intercity Bus Terminal, take city bus #10 or #11 bound for Bulguksa (seat bus #700 at Singyeongju Station, where KTX stops) and transfer to the shuttle bus bound for Seokguram at the bus stop near the tourist information center in the large parking lot of Bulguksa. do.
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