Bulguksa Temple, Gyeongju

Bulguksa is a temple on Tohamsan that took its present scale when the Silla minister Kim Dae-seong rebuilt it, and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with Seokguram. The rebuilding was in 751 under King Gyeongdeok, and the World Heritage listing in 1995. Its buildings stand on stone terraces built into the mountain slope. According to the Korea Tourism Organization it opens 9:00 to 18:00 with last entry at 17:00, every day of the year. Admission is listed as free in the tourist information, but check on-site fees before you visit. As you climb past Cheongungyo and Baegungyo, Dabotap and Seokgatap, to Museoljeon, Gwaneumjeon and Birojeon, the commentary tells the story of each building.

It was founded in the 15th year of King Beopheung of Silla, following his mother's wish, to pray for the nation's peace and the people's well-being. In 751, the 10th year of King Gyeongdeok, the minister Kim Dae-seong rebuilt it at its present scale. Most buildings and treasures were lost or looted in the Imjin War; until the 1920s only some buildings and pagodas remained, and restoration and repair produced today's temple, which holds heritage including seven National Treasures.

The commentary first notes that most temples of the time were on flat land, but this one was built on the slopes of Tohamsan, by the same person who made Seokguram. The Samguk Yusa names him as Kim Dae-seong, who was poor and worked as a day labourer but did many good deeds after a monk told him good acts bring good fortune.

Last entry is an hour before closing, so arriving late in the afternoon means seeing only part of it. Seokguram is on a ridge of the same Tohamsan about 3 km away; see the Gyeongju guide for the wider area.

Look at the stone terrace walls too. The commentary calls levelling the slope with stonework the hardest part of building Bulguksa: stones interlock without gaps, and where dressed stones meet natural ones, stones of different sizes are laid below with uncut stones on top, blending nature and craft.

After unification, Silla temples usually had matching twin pagodas, but Bulguksa built two very different ones. They give form to the Lotus Sutra passage in which Prabhutaratna (Dabo), a Buddha of the past, rises in a pagoda to prove Shakyamuni's words true. Dabotap is ornate, like the jewelled Dabo Buddha, and changes from square at the base to round above, symbolising the passage from an angular world to the round world of Buddhism; it is the pagoda on the 10-won coin.

Seokgatap is called the perfected form of the Silla stone pagoda, with harmonious proportions. Its other name, Muyeongtap ("pagoda without a shadow"), comes from the story of the Baekje mason Asadal and his wife Asanyeo, which the novelist Hyeon Jin-geon turned into a novel. The Mugujeonggwang Great Dharani Sutra found when the looted pagoda was repaired is regarded as the world's oldest surviving woodblock print and is a National Treasure, thought to predate Japan's Hyakumanto Darani by some 20 years.

The commentary explains Museoljeon through the story of the Buddha holding up a lotus on Vulture Peak 2,600 years ago, when only Kashyapa smiled: truth can pass without words. Gwaneumjeon models Mount Potalaka, home of Avalokiteshvara, so its stairs were made deliberately steep, also meaning that practice is hard; the building dates from the 1970s and has a painting of the thousand-armed, thousand-eyed Avalokiteshvara.

Birojeon's Vairocana Buddha symbolises truth and light; the commentary notes its upright posture, heavy shoulders, full chest, long waist and lively robe folds. The stupa in front, a Treasure, originally stood in Birojeon's front yard and was moved to its present spot after being secretly taken away during the Japanese occupation and recovered. The Beophwajeon site, where texts were kept, has not been restored.

• Last entry 17:00, closing 18:00, so avoid arriving late in the afternoon.
• Even though admission is listed as free, check the fee notice on site.
• Choose shoes for the steep Nakgagyo steps to Gwaneumjeon.
• If going on to Seokguram, check travel time and closing times first.

• Architecture and pagoda lovers: Dabotap, Seokgatap and the stone terrace walls close together.
• Story lovers: Asadal and Asanyeo, and the wordless smile of Museoljeon.
• Pairing with Seokguram: continue to Seokguram, about 3 km away on Tohamsan.

Fees, hours and programmes can change, so check the latest information before you visit.