Sokkuram: Buddhist monument and political statement in Korea

Abstract

A brief historical setting of Sokkuram in the context of Silla unification of Korea will be followed by a further brief cultural setting of this temple ‐ considering it a product of both an international Buddhism and an ‘international style’.

The first discussion deals with those aspects which set Sokkuram apart from its Asian rock‐cut temple equivalents. It will consider what type of Buddhist building Sokkuram is, some Asian prototypes, the method of construction, its architectural elements and decoration, and a comparison with the Yungang and Longmen sites in China.

The second discussion deals with the political significance of Sokkuram, taking the building as part of a national programme of State Buddhism comparable with other east Asian countries at that time, and it considers the temple's siting, orientation and use of iconography to underline a political, as well as a religious, message.

Keywords:

• Korea
• Buddhism
• sculpture
• state
• art
• architecture