| 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 Yugang 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 temples siting, orientation, and use of iconography to underline a political, as well as a religious, message.
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