Golgulsa

Quick facts

Address

101-5 Girim-ro, Munmudaewang-myeon, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do

About this place

Golgulsa stands in Munmudaewang-myeon, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do. At Golgulam, in the valley of Girimsa, there are twelve stone caves made by using natural hollows, and on the highest rock face among them a Buddha is carved. The rock-carved seated Buddha of Golgulam is four metres high and was designated a Treasure in 1974. In the Golgul Stone Caves leaf of the Gyonam Album of Famous Places, painted by an artist of the Joseon period, a wooden front chamber is shown; it cannot be seen now, and only traces of its framing remain here and there.

Origin and history

At Golgulam, in the valley of Girimsa, there are twelve stone caves made by using natural hollows. On the highest rock face among them a Buddha is carved.

The rock-carved seated Buddha of Golgulam is four metres high and was designated a Treasure in 1974.

In the Golgul Stone Caves leaf of the Gyonam Album of Famous Places, painted by an artist of the Joseon period, a wooden front chamber is shown. It cannot be seen now, and only traces of its framing remain here and there.

What it is locally associated with

• Power spot

  Twelve caves from natural hollows

  At Golgulam there are twelve stone caves made by using natural hollows, and on the highest rock face among them a Buddha is carved.

  documented history

• Origin

  A four-metre rock-carved Buddha

  The rock-carved seated Buddha of Golgulam is four metres high and was designated a Treasure in 1974.

  documented history

• What people do here

  A wooden chamber left only in a painting

  A Joseon-period painting of the Golgul stone caves shows a wooden front chamber; it cannot be seen now, and only traces of its framing remain.

  documented history

The caves at this temple were not dug out but taken up. Twelve stone caves were made by using natural hollows, and a Buddha was carved on the highest rock face among them. Seokguram, in the same Gyeongju, went the other way, stacking stone to make a cave that had not been there. One built a cave that did not exist; the other dressed a cave that did.

What has gone survives as a picture. The Golgul Stone Caves leaf of the Gyonam Album of Famous Places shows a wooden front chamber; that building cannot be seen now, and only traces of its framing remain. A lost structure is confirmed by one painting and a few sockets.

The location is written into the record as well. This place lies in the valley of Girimsa, and Girimsa is on this site too. The two still stand in the same township and on the same road name.

The rock-carved seated Buddha is four metres high and was designated a Treasure in 1974.

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.

Sources

1. 경주 골굴암 마애여래 좌상(慶州 骨窟庵 磨崖如來 坐像) — 한국민족문화대백과사전 (accessed 2026-08-16)