Rock-carved Buddhas on Domyeongsan Mountain, Goesan

These Buddhist images are carved on a rock face on Domyeongsan Mountain in Cheongcheon-myeon, Goesan-gun, North Chungcheong Province, and comprise three figures rendered entirely in incised outline. The main Buddha has a face 2 metres long, with generously large, clear-cut features. Its square-shaped body is densely covered with U-shaped robe folds carved in line. The face, body and robe folds appear to have been conceived together as an organic whole, a tendency shared with the line-incised rock-carved Buddhas popular in the early Goryeo period. The bodhisattva on the right is similar to the main Buddha in both form and carving technique. The bodhisattva on the left, with its oval face and round head carved in slight relief, shows a more refined character; below the neck, however, it too is rendered mainly in line, though a degree of curved elegance can still be seen in the hem of the robe, the folds of the skirt and the curves of the body. The main Buddha now stands about 9.1 metres high, but if the broken portion is taken into account it is thought to have originally exceeded 15 metres. The bodhisattva on the right measures 14 metres and the one on the left 5.4 metres, together forming a massive triad of one Buddha and two bodhisattvas that would have been among the largest of its era.

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Where it is

Region

Goesan, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산