I visited this WHS in April 2017. Overall, I have mixed feelings on this WHS. I think that the Seokguram Grotto alone surely possesses OUV and is perhaps one of the only truly iconic sites in South Korea. However, it is very difficult to appreciate its outstanding value from behind a glass!

I understand that it would be impossible to control the crowds without it, but at least a guided tour or specific time slot bookable online in advance shouldn't be impossible to organise. Being relatively small and just one 'grotto', in my opinion fuelled ICOMOS to suggest including Bulguksa Temple in this inscription, which is perfectly capable of catering for the crowds and possesses 2 important Silla stone pagodas among other relics. However, the majority of this temple has been totally reconstructed as recently as 1969-1973 so in my opinion it detracts rather than complementing the impressive grotto.

Bulguksa Temple was originally built in 751 AD but it was burnt down completely during Japanese invasions in 1593. Some of the buildings were rebuilt but the whole temple was completely restored or reconstructed in 1969-1973. The most important cultural properties from the Unified Silla period are located on site including the 2 stone pagodas of Seokgatap and Dabotap. The former is a 10.3 m tall three tier stone pagoda which was restored in 1925 and contained in its interior what is believed to be the world's oldest example of woodblock print. It is quite similar to the one found on top of Tohamsan Peak (1.4km from Seokgoram). It is in distinct contrast with the more elaborate Dabotap.

The Dapotap stone pagoda is truly unique and can be found on the 10 won coin. Only one of the four lions at its corners can be seen on site. A second one can be seen in the British Museum. A small part of the stone railings has been slightly damaged during the strong earthquake which occurred in Gyeongju in September 2016. Another interesting relic which caught my attention was an intricately carved stone lantern next to the Geungnakjeon Hall. All in all, however, I was quite disappointed with Bulguksa Temple and wouldn't advise anyone to go on a crazy day trip to Gyeongju and Bulguksa from Seoul as some local and international tourists do.

On the other hand, Seokgoram grotto is an extraordinary cave temple manually built 1200 years ago during the Unified Silla period. It was inspired by the cave temples of India (Ajanta) and China (Longmen and Yunggang) but it differs in many ways. The cave temples in India and China were built in areas of soft sandstone or limestone hills and the carvings were made directly on the rocks of several caves over time.

Seokguram embodies the ideal harmony of science, art and religion in a single entity as one complete project. Korea is full of solid granite mountains and hills, making it impossible to build cave temples in a similar manner. New construction techniques had to be developed in order to build the Seokgoram grotto, an artificial cave structure to house the temple. More than 360 enormous blocks of granite were used to build the temple, inserting a lead fastener between the stones that was immaculately carved out to support the sheer weight of the granite stones.

The geometrical shape has been meticulously calculated with a margin of error of only 1 in 10,000 which means 1mm in every 10 metres! This helps to get a sense of how precisely each stone was placed. Today, with modern precision tools, the margin of error stoneworkers aspire to achieve is 1 in 300 or 1mm every 30cm. In my opinion this aspect alone demonstrates the 1200 year old Silla architectural achievement and the OUV this site clearly possesses. Only the Inca temples come close to the granite construction techniques of Seokgoram but the Incas came 700 years later.

The grotto is made up of a rectangular antechamber and a round main hall. The roof is made up of 108 stones (symbolically important and sacred number in Buddhism), without the use of mortar. It exemplifies the sense of unity in this building apart from the phenomenal accuracy. The most impressive feature is obviously the Buddha statue illustrating the achievement of Buddhahood by the Sakyamuni. The simplicity in the statue represents the liberation from all worldly attachments. Although granite is a hard coarse grained rock, the Buddha statue and the surrounding figures contain vivid and detailed features.

I bought a very interesting DVD and a book on Seokgoram and I'd really love to visit its interior one time. When I visited, there was a Buddhist monk chanting and Buddhists prostrating inside, so I could easily take a couple of photos while nobody was watching. Each site has a UNESCO WHS stone marker in Korean next to the ticket booth so you cannot miss them.