Seated Buddha of Seohyeol Temple Site

[Narration]
Please take a look at this Sakyamuni Buddha statue.

[Tourist]
This statue is made of stone.

[Narration]
Yes. In addition to the gilt-bronze statues that you saw earlier, many stone statues of Buddha was also created in many regions of the Korean Peninsula.

[Tourist]
Ah, I see. But why is there a hole in between the eyebrows of this Buddha statue?

[Narration]
This represents the white hairs that were said to grow between the eyebrows of Buddha to represent the unlimited powers of the Buddha. Sometimes jewels such as crystals were placed here. I believe that the hole we see was where a crystal had been placed.

[Tourist]
Oh, I see. I guess that Sakyamuni was able to shoot lasers from between his eyebrows.

[Narration]
Maybe not so much. Sakyamuni ordered people not to make statues of him. He objected to the idea that people should serve him as if he were a saint by worshipping him. That's why for 500 years after his death, there were no statues that resembled the Sakyamuni Buddha. However, as Alexander the Great entered India, Greek culture was introduced to Asian region. In Greece, it was common for mythical gods to resemble men. As this culture was introduced to India in and around the 1st century A.D., figures of Buddha began to appear. Furthermore, as belief in Buddhism began to wane, Buddhist leaders decided that statues of Buddhist saints were necessary. The statues were designed to be easily distinguishable from common people by their appearance. The Buddhas were made with white hair in between the eyebrows, a feature that symbolized wisdom and divine power.

[Tourist]
I see. But, I also notice that the facial features of the statue are different from the facial features of the gilt-bronze statue that we saw before. Its face is not as chubby, and the statue's expression is more serious.

[Narration]
You are right. That was a good evaluation. This Buddhist figure was not made during the Baekje Dynasty. It was made after Baekje was incorporated into Silla, the kingdom occupying the southeastern part of the Korean Peninsula. The characteristics of a Baekje sculpture, such as chubby cheeks and a gentle smile, disappeared during this time. This Buddhist sculpture follows the traditional form of a Silla Buddhist statue.