Buddha Statues on a Cliff Face: The Korean Maae-bul – May 2025

By Kang Hyunsuk (Jennis)

In this issue of the Gwangju News, I would like to introduce Rock Buddha Statues on a Cliff Face: The Korean Maae-bul, a work by one of Korea’s foremost art historians, Professor Lee Tae-ho.

During my time at Chonnam National University, I had the privilege of taking a deeply inspiring Korean art history course taught by Professor Lee. His classes extended beyond the lecture hall: We were assigned to sketch the Thousand Buddhas and Pagodas at Unju Temple and the stone totem figures at Bulhoe Temple. These assignments taught us to open our eyes to the cultural heritage that surrounds us – things we often overlook – and to appreciate them with wonder and reverence.

Without question, Professor Lee’s course was the most meaningful class of my university life. I consider it a great honor to have learned directly from him. I even wonder if it was thanks to Professor Lee that I, who never majored in art, have been writing an art column for the Gwangju News for many years now.

In celebration of Buddha’s Birthday this May, I would like to share an excerpt from Professor Lee’s work on maae-bul (마애불) or rock cliff-face Buddha statues. I recently had the opportunity to visit his studio and tell him how happy I was to have been one of his students. With his kind permission and my deepest gratitude, I here share his story on maae-bul.

Maae-bul

Maae-bul refers to Buddha statues carved directly onto the face of a cliff or rock wall. These cliff- carved images, or reliefs, come in two main forms: high relief, where the figure projects prominently from the rock surface, and low relief, where the carving is shallow and subtle.

Some maae-bul have thickly modeled faces while the bodies are outlined with engraved lines. Others feature only the head sculpted in three dimensions, with the natural rock surface forming the body. Still others are carved entirely with line work alone. These variations show the diverse techniques used in cliff carving.

Maae-bul, along with other rock Buddha statues in the form of relief or sculpture in the round, represent the pinnacle of Korean sculptural art. They also evoke the aesthetic of Buddhist paintings rendered on rock – a truly painterly sense of beauty carved into the rock.

Cultural Heritage of the “Granite Country”

Korea’s rock-carved Buddhas trace their formal origins to the rock-cut temples of India and China. In India, where Buddhism originated, and in China, which had a direct influence on Korean Buddhism, it was common to carve Buddhist images and reliefs into the walls of caves excavated from massive rock faces, creating spaces for worship and spiritual practice. These grand rock-cut temples, developed around the 5th to 6th centuries, were likely built under strong state patronage. Such construction was possible in mountainous regions composed of softer rock like limestone or sandstone, which allowed for the excavation of dozens or even hundreds of chambers.

In contrast, Korea’s geography lacks such large rock masses suitable for constructing grand cave temples. Moreover, much of the country is underlain by hard granite, which is difficult to carve into. As a result, Korea developed its own unique form of sacred space: the maae-bul. These rock-carved Buddhas are sculpted directly into natural rock faces, becoming one with the land, and thus are immovable – left almost entirely intact in their original locations. This immobility allows modern viewers to vividly sense the spiritual mindset and aesthetic sensibility of their creators, as well as the geographic features of the chosen rock. In this sense, maae-bul can be regarded as early forms of environmental sculpture in a modern context.

Furthermore, maae-bul reflect a syncretic belief system combining Buddhism and indigenous shamanistic practices, a tradition that has continued from the time of their creation to the present. These sites create a space where nature, religion, art, and traces of everyday life coexist more harmoniously than in any other cultural heritage. Thus, in the history of Korean Buddhist art, the maae-bul stands out as a cultural treasure that embodies the essence of Korean spirituality and aesthetic values, harmonizing life and art without opposing nature.

Korea is often referred to as the “land of granite.” As is well known, the country has many mountains formed during the ancient geological age, and most are composed of large and small granite rock formations. Because Koreans have lived in close relationship with mountains for centuries, mountains have played a crucial role in shaping the character of Korean culture and art. From traditional graves and thatched roofs shaped like gentle mountain ridges, to architecture, sculpture, celadon, crafts, hanbok, painting, calligraphy, and even dance and music – almost all forms of Korean cultural arts reflect the form and sentiment of mountains.

Likewise, the beauty of granite, with its hardness and warm color tones, has deeply influenced Korean aesthetics. Our ancestors brought out the natural charm and sculptural beauty of granite through rock Buddhas, pagodas, and other stone artworks. In particular, maae-bul, carved directly into granite cliffs, most effectively showcase the texture and form of granite rock.

Mountain Worship and Rock-Carved Buddhas

Mountains have long been the cradle of spiritual belief for Koreans. As places that reach close to the heavens, they have been regarded as sacred spaces where divine beings descend. From the grand mountains where state rituals were held, to the central mountains around which cities were formed, and even the village back hills where guardian spirits (seonang-sin) were enshrined, mountains have consistently served as the focal point of nature-based spiritual worship. It is believed that this tradition is also the reason why rock-carved Buddhas were primarily created in mountainous areas.

Mountain spirits (san-sin) were originally believed to inhabit specific sacred spaces or objects in nature. As such, large exposed rocks attracted special attention. Depending on the shape of the rock, a sense of sacredness was often attributed to it. Good examples include rocks shaped like animals, such as turtles, tigers, or dragons; those resembling human forms; and even rocks that resembled male or female genitalia, which became symbols of fertility.

At some point, Koreans began to pray to these rocks for personal or familial prosperity and fertility, as well as for the peace and protection of their communities or the nation. These practices have continued in shamanistic forms to this day. This is evidenced by people still writing names or offering prayers on notable rocks believed to be inhabited by mountain spirits.

With the introduction and establishment of Buddhism in the 4th to 5th centuries, spiritual focus gradually shifted toward the authority of the Buddha. This transition is most clearly expressed through the carvings of Buddha into rock surfaces. Like this, the phenomenon of harmonious co- existence of Shamanism and Buddhism during this period of religious intersection shows how Korean Shamanism embraced the new religion, and how Korean Buddhism, in turn, accepted indigenous beliefs.

Korean rock-carved Buddhas were created in a way that coexisted with shamanistic elements, without undermining the charisma of native spiritual traditions. Most maae-bul are not located at the very peaks of mountains. Even when large rocks that where ideal for carving were available at summits revered as abodes of mountain spirits, they were intentionally left without carvings. Looking at the locations of Korea’s most iconic maae-bul, one can clearly see that this principle was carefully upheld.

The Korean Psyche Reflected in Rock-Cut Buddhas

The tradition of carving Buddhas into rock surfaces began around the 7th century in the Baekje Kingdom, with notable examples like the Seosan Rock-Carved Buddha Triad. This practice continued steadily for nearly 1,500 years, until the end of the Joseon Dynasty, resulting in over 200 rock-carved Buddhas found throughout Korea. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Korea’s Buddhist culture developed hand-in- hand with these rock-carved images, establishing them as one of the most distinctly Korean forms of Buddhist art in the history of Korean art.

Korean rock-cut images of Buddha are fundamentally different from the traditional Western concept of sculpture, which seeks to extract the dynamic form of the human body from a block of stone, often completely erasing the stone’s original shape. In contrast, Korean rock- carved Buddhas preserve the natural shape and surface of the rock. Rather than simply carving the Buddha as an absolute divine figure, these works respect the spiritual presence believed to reside within the rock itself. As sacred beings breathing within nature and human life, these Buddhas are created by projecting the image of the Buddha onto the original shape of the stone.

Furthermore, Korean rock-carved Buddhas have been closely associated with faith in Maitreya – the future Buddha – since the early stages of their development. Maitreya is believed to come to this world in the distant future to create a more beautiful and peaceful realm. Rock- carved Buddhas embody this dream of a future paradise, reflecting a deep yearning for change and representing the secular lives and emotions of people throughout history. Because of this, these images of Buddhas did not remain confined to a single, idealized form. Sometimes they appear childlike, stern, or authoritative visages; or the friendly, down-to-earth appearance of a countryside elder. Free from rigid formalities, these Buddhas reflect the diverse features and inner sentiments of the Korean people, engraved onto stone surfaces.

Few other works of art offer such a profound combination of historical religious significance and emotional artistic expression as Korea’s rock- carved Buddhas.