Kim Daeseong (; 700–774) was a chief minister of

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

during the reign of King Seongdeok in the

Unified Silla Unified Silla, or Late Silla, is the name often applied to the historical period of the Korean kingdom of Silla after its conquest of Goguryeo in 668 AD, which marked the end of the Three Kingdoms period. In the 7th century, a Silla–Tang alli ...

period. He was the son of a previous chief minister, Kim Mullyang (김문량, 金文亮). He is credited with the establishment of the famed

Bulguksa Bulguksa () is a Buddhist temple on Tohamsan, in Jinhyeon-dong, Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and contains six National Treasures, including the Dabotap and Seokgata ...

temple and Seokguram shrine in

Gyeongju Gyeongju (, ), historically known as Seorabeol (, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering with a population of ...

. The ''

Samguk Yusa ''Samguk yusa'' (; ) or ''Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms'' is a collection of legends, folktales, and historical accounts relating to the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla), as well as to other periods and states before, d ...

'' relates a tale that Kim Daeseong was the reincarnation of the child of a pious but poor woman who offered up a field which she had worked long and hard to buy. He is said to have built Bulguksa in memory of his parents of the current life, and Seokguram in memory of his parents in the former life.

See also