Stone Seated Buddha in Yongjangsagok Valley of Namsan Mountain, Gyeongju

This statue depicting a buddha is presumed to have been made around the mid-8th century during the Unified Silla period(668-935). Although its head has been lost, the statie's advanced artistry can be seen in the remains of the statue and its pedestal. The shape of the statue’s pedestal, which sits atop a natural rock and is made by stacking six rounded stones of alternating small and large diameters, is rarely found in Korea.

Various details attest to the intricate carving technique used to create the statue, such as the strings and knots for fastening the robes on the left shoulder and the realistically defined folds of the garment flowing below the buddha’s knees.

This statue is located in Yongjangsagok Valley. The name of this valley comes from the temple Yongjangsa, which was a large temple during the Unified Silla period. In 1920, roof tiles inscribed with this temple’s name were found near this statue, so it is presumed to have been a part of the temple premises.

Yongjangsa is also mentioned in the Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms (Samguk yusa), which says that when the monk Daehyeon stayed at this temple during the reign of King Gyeongdeok (r. 742-765), there was a large stone statue of Maitreya, the Future Buddha, measuring around 4.8 m in height. Daehyeon would walk circles around the statue as a part of his spiritual practice, and the statue’s head was said to spin around, following Daehyeon as he walked. It is thought that this stone seated statue is the one mentioned in this story.

Source: Korea Heritage Service signboard ↗ · collected 2026-10-08