Qualla: Bulguksa https://qualla.com/bulguksa en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:39 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/w/y/7/g/bulguksa-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Bulguksa https://qualla.com/bulguksa Bulguksa: Introduction https://qualla.com/bulguksa/ Photo credit J. Patrick Fischer, CC BY-SA 3.0. Two stone pagodas stand side by side in front of Bulguksa's main hall, and they could not look more different. Seokgatap is austere -- three stories of clean lines and minimal ornament, the embodiment of restrained Korean style. Dabotap, right beside it, is elaborately carved, almost baroque in its complexity, its image reproduced on the South Korean 10-won coin. Together they represent the twin poles of Buddhist philosophy: the simple and the ornate, the earthly and the heavenly. They have stood this way for over thirteen centuries, which is longer than most civilizations last.

Read more: Bulguksa on Qualla

Image: J. Patrick Fischer | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/y/7/g/bulguksa-wp/wy7g-bulguksa-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Bulguksa: From a Minister's Devotion https://qualla.com/bulguksa/ Photo credit Larry Johnson, CC BY 2.0. The temple's records trace its origins to 528 AD, when a small temple was built on this site under King Beopheung. But the Bulguksa that visitors encounter today began taking shape in 751, when the Silla kingdom's chief minister, Kim Daeseong, ordered its construction to pacify t...

Read more: Bulguksa on Qualla

Image: Larry Johnson | CC BY 2.0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/y/7/g/bulguksa-wp/wy7g-bulguksa-from-a-ministers-devotion.mp3 0:06 2 full Bulguksa: Bridges to Enlightenment https://qualla.com/bulguksa/ Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. The entrance to Bulguksa is not a door but a staircase. The Cheongungyo, or Blue Cloud Bridge, and Baegungyo, or White Cloud Bridge, together form a 33-step ascent to the Jahamun, the Mauve Mist Gate. The number is deliberate: 33 steps correspond to the 33 stages of enlightenment...

Read more: Bulguksa on Qualla

Image: Unknown author | Public domain

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/y/7/g/bulguksa-wp/wy7g-bulguksa-bridges-to-enlightenment.mp3 0:06 3 full Bulguksa: Six National Treasures Under One Roof https://qualla.com/bulguksa/ Photo credit Bernard Gagnon, CC0. Bulguksa contains six objects designated as National Treasures of South Korea. The twin pagodas -- Seokgatap (No. 21) at 8.2 meters and Dabotap (No. 20) at 10.4 meters -- anchor the main courtyard. Inside the halls sit two gilt-bronze Buddha statues from the ninth century: a seat...

Read more: Bulguksa on Qualla

Image: Bernard Gagnon | CC0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/y/7/g/bulguksa-wp/wy7g-bulguksa-six-national-treasures-under-one-roof.mp3 0:06 4 full Bulguksa: Burned and Reborn https://qualla.com/bulguksa/ Photo credit Christophe95, CC BY-SA 4.0. The famous stone structures at Bulguksa survived the centuries, but the wooden buildings did not. During the Imjin Wars of 1592, Japanese forces burned every wooden structure to the ground. Reconstruction began in 1604 and continued through roughly 40 renovations until 1805. Afte...

Read more: Bulguksa on Qualla

Image: Christophe95 | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/y/7/g/bulguksa-wp/wy7g-bulguksa-burned-and-reborn.mp3 0:06 5 full Bulguksa: The Buddha Land on Tohamsan https://qualla.com/bulguksa/ Photo credit J. Patrick Fischer, CC BY-SA 3.0. Bulguksa sits on the forested slopes of Mount Tohamsan in Gyeongju, the ancient capital of the Silla kingdom. In 1995, UNESCO added Bulguksa and the nearby Seokguram Grotto to the World Heritage List, recognizing the temple as a masterpiece of the golden age of Buddhist art in Ko...

Read more: Bulguksa on Qualla

Image: J. Patrick Fischer | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/y/7/g/bulguksa-wp/wy7g-bulguksa-the-buddha-land-on-tohamsan.mp3 0:06 6 full