The construction of Bulguksa was started by Prime Minister Gim Dae-seong in 751 during the reign of King Gyeongdeok and completed in 774 during the reign of King Hyegong of the Silla Kingdom. In Bulguksa Temple, the Silla people recreated "Buddha Land", a Buddhist paradise on earth. It is representative of a particular Buddhist architectural period in layout and structure. Especially the stone properties embody the artistic and philosophical essence of Bulguksa Temple. Seokguram grotto was built with white granite in the form of a niche and enshrines a seated Buddha in the center surrounded on the wall by 39 Bodhisattvas, ten disciples, and Devas and guardian kings. It represents the Pure Land in which Buddha resides. This stone cave temple is the crystallization of Silla's religion, science and art, a monumental achievement of Buddhist culture of the Unified Silla period.

Jongmyo Shrine
The Royal ancestral Shrine enshrines the tablets of successive kings and queens of Joseon, and those who were posthumously enthroned where sacrificial rites were performed. The Shrine was continuously expanded as the number of deceased kings and queens increased. Jongmyo is an important cultural monument which transmits to posterity the ethical and moral values of the Joseon dynasty which espoused the cause of loyalty and filial piety of Confucianism as its basic ideology. There are in the Jongmyo shrine many buildings ; the Main Hall and the Hall of Eternal Peace, the Jeonsacheong where sacrificial vessels are preserved ; Akgongcheong where musicians rehearse ritual music, the Hall of Meritorious Retainers, the Hyangdaecheong where sacrificial food is prepared and the Subokbang where lower administrative officials reside. The Main Hall was built in a simple style but it is the longest standing wooden building in Korea with the Moon Terrace in the front. It represents the shrine architecture of Korea with dignity and majesty. Ritual ceremonies linking music, song and dance still take places there, perpetuating a tradition that goes back to the 14th century.

Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon, the Depositories for the Tripitaka Koreana Woodblocks
The Storage Buildings are the oldest ones in this temple which house the world cultural heritage of more than 80,000 printing woodblocks of the 13th century. The buildings consist of two long buildings placed on the north and south with two smaller ones on the east and west between them thus forming a rectangle. The buildings showing the architectural style of the early Joseon period are noted not only for their beauty but also for their scientific devices for the prevention of humidity, and also for ventilation and climate control, the devices which enabled the preservation of the printing woodblocks of the Tripitaka Koreana for such a long time.

Changdeokgung Palace Complex
Built in the 5th year (1405) of the reign of King Taejong, the third king of the Joseon Dynasty, Changdeokgung (Historic Site No. 122), the "Palace of Illustrious Virtue", is the glorious quintessence of traditional palace architecture harmoniously integrated with a beautiful natural setting landscaped garden. Centering on Injeongjeon, the throne hall, the whole place compound of Changdeokgung is broadly divided into two areas, one containing the main palace buildings and the other constituting the rear garden, Huwon. Besides Injeongjeon, the former area contains Seonjeongjeon, the hall of government affairs, Huijeongdang, the king's residence, containing his bedchamber, Daejojeon, the queen's residence, and annexes including Gajeongdang House and Nakseonjae Manor. The latter area contains Juhamnu, the court library, Buyongjeong and Yeon-gyeongdang Pavilions, and Buyongji and Aeryeonji Ponds. Making the best use of the topography, the rear garden is superbly designed with rare flowers and trees, lotus ponds, and exquisite pavilions on gentle slopes, all of which make it certainly the zenith of Korean garden landscapes.

Suwon Hwaseong Fortress
The Joseon Dynasty's 22nd king, King Jeongjo (r. 1776-1800), ordered the construction of Hwaseong Fortress (Historic Site No. 3). He did this out of filial piety towards his deceased father, Crown Prince Sado. He moved his father's tomb to Mt. Hwasan near Suwon and at about same time, from 1794 to 1796, moved the provincial government office and residences to Suwon and built the impregnable Hwaseong Fortress. The fortress was designed for both residential and defensive functions. Each facility in the enclosure has a beauty of its own that does its part to make the entire fortress an architectural masterpiece. Under the influence of "Silhak" (Practical Learning), a sophisticated technique involving cranes, pulleys, and other special machinery were mobilized to build these advanced fortifications, which were furnished with diverse weaponry. Filial piety as the underlying motive for construction of the fortress, advanced engineering, and unique design - all these make Hwaseong Fortress the treasure of the Joseon dynasty in the 18th century, a marvel unsurpassed to this day.

Gyeongju Historic Areas
The Gyeongju Historic Areas contain a remarkable concentration of outstanding examples of Korean Buddhist art, in the form of sculptures, relief's, pagodas, and the remains of temples and palaces from the flowering of this form of unique artistic expression. There are three major components (belts) that make up the Gyeongju Historic Areas; in addition, the nomination covers Hwangnyongsa and the Sanseong Fortress. Mount Namsan, which lies to the north of Gyeongju City, covers 2,650ha. There are a large number of prehistoric and historic remains within the designated area. The Buddhist monuments that have been excavated up to the present include the ruins of 122 temples, 53 stone statues, 64 pagodas, and sixteen stone lanterns. The main monuments in this area are the ruined palace sites of Wolseong, the Gyerim woodland which legend identifies as the birthplace of the founder of the Gyeongju Kim clan, Anapji Pond, on the site of the ruined Imhaejeon Palace, and the Cheomseongdae Observatory. The Tumuli Park Belt consists of three groups of Royal tombs. Most of the mounds are domed, but some take the form of a half-moon or a gourd. Hwangnyongsa, built by the order of King Jinheung (540-576) was the largest temple ever built in Korea, covering some 72,500ha. An 80m high nine-story pagoda was added in 645. Mongol invaders destroyed the entire complex in 1238; it was never rebuilt, but was occupied by more than a hundred families, who were relocated in 1976.

Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites
Dolmens are megalithic funerary monuments, which are numerous in Asia, Europe, and North Africa of which Korea has the greatest concentration. These are of great archaeological value for the information that they provide about the prehistoric peoples who built them and their social and political systems, beliefs and rituals, arts and ceremonies.
The Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa sites contain the highest density and greatest variety of dolmens in Korea, and indeed of any country. They also preserve important evidence of how the stones were quarried, transported, and raised and of how dolmen types changed over time in north-east Asia. NW