Golgulsa Temple

磨崖如来佛(宝物第５８１号)

The representative Buddhist sites of Gyeongju in Silla’s millennium ancient city include Namsan Mountain, Bulguksa Temple in Tohamsan Mountain, and Seokguram Hermitage, and Golgulsa Temple, the only Seokgur temple in Korea, is located at the foot of Hamwolsan Mountain, about 20km from the center of Gyeongju to the east coast.

Golgulsa Temple, which is said to have been founded in the 6th century when Silla Buddhism flourished, is a stone cave temple with a unique temple layout with a 4m-high and 2.2m-wide Buddha carved in relief on limestone that is easy to dig out.

Founded about 200 years before Bulguksa Temple, which was rebuilt in 751, Golgulsa Temple is the only Buddhist temple in Gwaneumgul Cave, where most of the 12 Buddhist temples in the 12 stone caves collapsed or were destroyed by war and placed a heavy roof on the front of the cave.

Golgulsa Temple, named because the temple looks like a skull carved from limestone cliffs, is also the headquarters of Seonmudo, a visionary martial art that has been handed down to monks since the Silla Dynasty, and has been operating a temple stay where you can experience Korean Buddhist culture based on Seonmudo Island.