Bulguksa, whose name means "Buddha land temple", is one of the few surviving examples of Silla architecture. According to legend it was founded in 535 as Hwaeombeomnyusa temple. Although most of Bulguksa is a reconstruction, the foundation stones and the pagodas are original.
The temple was sacked in the 1592 Hideyoshi Toyotomi invasions and all of the wooden buildings were burned to the ground. It was partially reconstructed during the Japanese occupation of Korea and later fully restored during the regime of president Park Chung-hee (1961-1979).
01 Wooden statues of gods 02 Altar with golden Buddha statues 03 Golden Buddha statue 04 Roof detail with colourful decorations 05 Taeungjon hall
06 Roof detail with colourful decorations 07 Pagoda 08 Pagoda and court 09 Roofs 10 Pathway to the Taeungjon hall
11 Wooden building 12 Roof detail with colourful decorations 13 Staircase and gate 14 Birojon (Vairocana Buddha hall)
15 Gwaneumjeon (Hall of Avalokitesvara) 16 Roof detail with colourful decorations 17 Roof detail with colourful decorations 18 Wooden building 19 Corridor
20 Beomyeongnu pavilion 21 Pavilion
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