Visiting the remains of Namsan Mountain in Gyeongju… Samneung-gol course
Visiting the remains of Namsan Mountain in Gyeongju… Samneung-gol course
  • 이종환 기자
  • 승인 2022.04.27 17:26
  • 댓글 0
이 기사를 공유합니다

By Jong-hwan Lee

Gyeongju, April 27(World Korean News)= It was on April 24 that we went on a tour of Namsan Mountain after hearing that “Gyeongju Namsan is a road to heal and enjoy culture.”

At 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, our group gathered at the parking lot of Seonamsan Mountain and followed a cultural heritage commentator dispatched from the Gyeongju Namsan Research Institute on a tour. Gyeongju Namsan Research Institute is a corporation that conducts free tours of Namsan relics every Saturday and Sunday.

“Today, we are following the journey to Samneunggol.”

The guide brought up the story at the sign of Sambulsa Temple. He said he received a master's degree in cultural heritage from Gyeongju University as a late bloomer.

In Sambulsa Temple, there are three ancient stone buddha statues. It is regarded as a masterpiece representing Silla's sculpture technology during the Three Kingdoms Period around the 7th century. The temple was later opened with the three Buddha statues.

When our group visited this place, it seemed to be time for Buddha's offerings. The Buddhist monk of Sambulsa Temple gave consideration to stop offering for a while for us who were looking around the statues.

The next place we went was Samneung which means three tombs. Pine trees were thick around the tombs. The sign of the tombs said that the 8th King Adala of Silla, the 53rd King Sindeok, and the 54th King Gyeongmyeong were buried. There was a 700-year difference between King Adala, King Sindeok, and King Gyeongmyeong.

In Samguksagi, it is said that King Sindeok was buried in Jukseong Fortress, and Samgukyusa was cremated and buried in the south of Jamhyeon. King Gyeongmyeong, who succeeded to the throne as the prince of Sindeok, said that he had buried it in the north of Hwangboksa Temple in Samguk Sagi, and in Samguk Yusa, he was cremated at Hwangboksa Temple and scattered in a mountain valley on the west side of Seongdeungsan Mountain.

In this way, the site of the tomb of King Sindeok or King Gyeongmyeong is unclear, and there is no reason why the tombs of King Sindeok and King Gyeongmyeong, which are 700 years apart, are gathered in one place, so they tilted their heads at the explanation of the information board.

“Attila is famous for being the king of the Huns, and it sounds similar to King Adala.”

While talking about this, the group moved to next destination. Attila was a Hun king who founded a great empire in Romania in the 5th century AD.

It was followed by a journey to climb Namsan Mountain. As I climbed a little upward, a neckless Buddha appeared on the rock.

Why did the the head of buddha statue disappear? Who took it? Or was it suppressed by anti-Buddhist fundamentalists?

After stopping for a while at the seated stone Buddha without a neck and listening to the explanation, he went out to find the Maae Gwaneum Bodhisattva with a water bottle. It was Gwaneum Bodhisattva with bulging cheekbones and small lips like a cherry.

“Look closely at your lips. Can you see the red light?”

If you look closely, the lips of the Bodhisattva Maae Gwaneum were likely to show a red color as if it had been rouged. At that time, the guide explained that it was not clear whether the rock statue was made and painted until now, or whether the red part of the stone was chosen and made with lips.

As I climbed the mountain again, I saw lines of Buddha everywhere. Some were convexly embossed Buddhas, and some were carved with concave lines.

In particular, the six buddhas carved on a large rock was enough to attract attention from our group. On the left, three Buddhas were drawn around Maitreya Buddha and on the right, Amitabha Buddha.

“It wasn't originally painted on an open-air rock, but maybe it was built and enshrined in the past?”

As I climbed with this thought, a Buddha appeared on one side of the cliff. It was an unfinished Buddha drawing who only showed his face and shoulder lines.

“Just think of it as slowly emerging from the rock. The Silla people may have forethought that the Buddha was being revealed.”

I think it's like the seventh ridge of Namsan Mountain. A magnificent Buddha with a halo appeared in a slightly protruding rock.

“He had plastic surgery to correct his jaw. Part of his jaw was gone.”

The commentator introduced the Buddha in this way, and showed the image of the Buddha before correction. Not only the chin but also the neck showed signs of new attachments that had fallen from the body. The halo behind was also attached with the broken middle part. Will it be a trace of history to be broken and damaged like this?

The last place we went was where the Seated Buddha relief was. The thick cheekbones on one side were not symmetrical, and the lips were like sulky.

“The relief had not completed for some reason. We can see the engraved images.”

The guide introduced that the face of the Buddha is called Sangho and that the round and handsome are smooth, but this is not the case here.

“The fact that there are so many ruins in Namsan Mountain in Gyeongju must be said to have been significant enough to support the economic power of Gyeongju at the time.”

Our party ended the tour of Namsan ruins.

According to the Gyeongju Namsan Research Institute, 700 cultural relics, including 13 royal tombs, 4 fortresses, 150 temple sites, 130 Buddha statues, 100 pagodas, 22 stone lanterns, and 19 Yeonhwadae, are scattered all over the mountain. It is said that Namsan Mountain is not a small mountain, and relics are scattered, so free exploration is also divided into eight courses.

The Samneunggol course, which our group went to, is relatively short in four hours, and the east Namsan course to Jibawigok Valley or west Namsan course to Chilbulam Simsugok Valley takes six and a half hours.


댓글삭제
삭제한 댓글은 다시 복구할 수 없습니다.
그래도 삭제하시겠습니까?
댓글 0
댓글쓰기
계정을 선택하시면 로그인·계정인증을 통해
댓글을 남기실 수 있습니다.

  • 서울특별시 송파구 올림픽로35가길 11(한신잠실코아오피스텔) 1214호
  • 대표전화 : 070-7803-5353 / 02-6160-5353
  • 팩스 : 070-4009-2903
  • 명칭 : 월드코리안신문(주)
  • 제호 : 월드코리안뉴스
  • 등록번호 : 서울특별시 다 10036
  • 등록일 : 2010-06-30
  • 발행일 : 2010-06-30
  • 발행·편집인 : 이종환
  • 청소년보호책임자 : 이석호
  • 파인데일리 모든 콘텐츠(영상,기사, 사진)는 저작권법의 보호를 받은바, 무단 전재와 복사, 배포 등을 금합니다.
  • Copyright © 2024 월드코리안뉴스. All rights reserved. mail to wk@worldkorean.net
ND소프트