Seokgulam Grotto, National Treasure No. 24, was designated as a world cultural heritage by UNESCO on December, 1995 along with Bulguk Temple. Its proper name as a cultural heritage is Seokgulam Seokgul. King Gyeongdeuk of Shilla Dynasty ]et Kim Dae-se...
Seokgulam Grotto, National Treasure No. 24, was designated as a world cultural heritage by UNESCO on December, 1995 along with Bulguk Temple. Its proper name as a cultural heritage is Seokgulam Seokgul. King Gyeongdeuk of Shilla Dynasty ]et Kim Dae-seong, who was the prime minister at that time, build the grotto to pray for the rebirth of Kims ancestors in paradise. Building started in 751 under the reign of King Gyeongdeuk and was completed in 774, the 10th regime year of King Hyegong
Originally, it was an independent temple named Seok-bul-sa, but at about the time of the Im-jin-wae-ran(the Japanese invasion) and shortly there after it had financial difficulties. It was attached to Bul-guk Temple and renamed Seok-gu-lam instead of Seok-bu-lam. White granite were used to build the stone cave and Amitabha, the main Buddha statue which stands between 40 Buddha statues such as Buddhist saints, Buddha pupils, a Deva king, to name but a few. Unfortunately only 38 of the 40 statues remain.
The composition of the grotto is as follows: the rectangular front chamber is connected to the main chamber by a corridor. The ceiling is delicately made of about 360 broad stones. The building technique is unprecedented in the world. From 1913, several rehabilitations were made on the grotto, which caused a lot of the present problems. Specifically, repairs made by the Japanese in 1913 resulted in the present condensation problem. In the middle of 1970, for scientific preservation of the Grotto, a glass screen was installed at the front chamber to prevent the entry of visitors.
To maintain the proper moisture level inside, the cement wall was re~covered with cement with a gap over the existing wall and artificial ventilation was made. To block the natural conditions that badly affect the grotto, a wooden chamber was built and a glass wall was built between the wooden chamber and the grotto, but no improvement occurred.
The Grotto has an open structure advantageous for ventilation and was delicately planned for smooth air circulation. However, it is judged that the closing walls had a bad effect on ventilation. The Seokgulam Grotto is the important world heritage. So, more reasonable scientific preservative method should be developed for its permanent preservation.