Dosolam

Temple · Jeolla

Seonunsa Dosolam · the Dongbulam rock-carved Buddha

Researched and translated with AI assistance. Every claim is linked to its source, but errors get through, so check the official site for opening times, fees and closures.About

In short

A hermitage of Seonunsa, with a seated Buddha thirteen metres high cut into the cliff and a gilt bronze Ksitigarbha inside.

The rock-carved seated Buddha at the Dongbulam site beside Dosolam, cut into the cliff face. — Eggmoon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Quick facts

Address: 294 Dosol-gil, Asan-myeon, Gochang-gun, Jeollabuk-do

About this place

Dosolam is a hermitage of Seonunsa on Dosolsan in Asan, Gochang, North Jeolla. Seonunsa is most commonly held to have been founded in 577 by Geomdan, a monk of Baekje. The rock-carved seated Buddha at the Dongbulam site beside the hermitage is 13 m high and 3 m wide and was designated a Treasure in 1994; the gilt bronze seated Ksitigarbha enshrined in the hermitage’s Naewongung was designated a Treasure in 1963.

Origin and history

The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture describes Seonunsa as a temple on Dosolsan in Asan, Gochang, held by tradition to have been founded by Geomdan, a monk of Baekje. The account putting the founding at 577 is the most widely accepted.

The rock-carved buddha at the Dongbulam site is 13 m high and 3 m wide and was designated a Treasure in 1994.

The gilt bronze seated Ksitigarbha enshrined in Dosolam’s Naewongung was designated a Treasure in 1963.

What it is locally associated with

Power spot
A buddha thirteen metres high
The rock-carved buddha at the Dongbulam site is 13 m high and 3 m wide, designated a Treasure in 1994.
documented history
Power spot
The gilt bronze Ksitigarbha
The gilt bronze seated Ksitigarbha enshrined in Dosolam’s Naewongung was designated a Treasure in 1963.
documented history
Origin
Geomdan’s founding, 577
Seonunsa is most commonly held to have been founded by the Baekje monk Geomdan in 577.
folk tradition

What holds your eye here is the scale. The buddha cut into the cliff is thirteen metres high and three wide. Standing in front of it, you cannot take in the face at once.

The mountain, the temple and the hermitage all carry the name Dosol — Tusita, the heaven where Maitreya is said to dwell. But how Maitreya was believed in here, and what was asked, the state record does not set down. So this page carries no category of prayer.

There is one more story that circulates widely about this carving. It does not appear in the encyclopedia, so it is not repeated here.

Claims and evidence levels 3

Seonunsa, on Dosolsan in Gochang, is held by tradition to have been founded by the Baekje monk Geomdan, most commonly dated to 577. folk tradition
The rock-carved seated buddha at the Dongbulam site is 13 metres high and 3 metres wide, and was designated a Treasure in 1994. documented history
The gilt bronze seated Ksitigarbha enshrined in Dosolam’s Naewongung was designated a Treasure in 1963. documented history

Related guides

How to visit a Korean templeHands together and hands folded, how the bows work, and what to do at the threshold of a hall. Starting with what is different from visiting a Japanese shrine.
The small hall behind the main one — sansingak and samseonggakUphill from the main hall of a Korean temple stands a smaller one, and inside it an old man with a tiger. This is where the indigenous religion sits, inside the Buddhist institution.
Templestay — a night at a templeA programme that puts you inside a temple’s own timetable for a day or two. What you do, which type to book, and what to be ready for.
Prayer sites and the one wishThe three great Gwaneum sites, the five relic halls, and the crowds before the entrance exam. Where the saying about one wish comes from, and where the record stops.