What it was
The great Buddhist temple of Gyeongju, begun in 751 on older foundations under the Silla chief minister Kim Daeseong and completed by the court in 774, after his death — the traditional account given in the Samguk Yusa. Its stone terraces, staircase-bridges, and twin pagodas — the ornate Dabotap, pictured on the 10-won coin, and the austere Seokgatap — are masterpieces of Silla stonework.
Role
A 1966 repair of Seokgatap yielded the Mugujeonggwang Great Dharani Sutra, among the oldest known woodblock prints in the world, dating from before 751. The temple is paired with the nearby Seokguram grotto and its great stone Buddha; the two were inscribed together as UNESCO World Heritage in 1995.
Fate
The wooden halls burned in the Imjin War and were rebuilt, and a major restoration followed in 1969–73. Today Bulguksa is a head temple of the Jogye order and one of Korea’s most visited historic sites.