Editorial Note: Reviews of the Five Articles on Characteristics of Goryeo Art

The most distinctive characteristics of Goryeo art are considered to be the invention of creative techniques and the manifestation of cultural diversity.

While the Unified Silla Kingdom established an international artistic style by embracing various foreign cultural elements and formulated the future basis for Korean Buddhist art, it was in the Goryeo dynasty that a distinct Korean Buddhist art was achieved by developing original form and styles. Buddhism flourished during this period and a number of Buddhist temples were built.

Accordingly, a variety of types of Buddhist metalworks began to be produced. This increase in the production of such metalworks was also a result of the demand for the numerous ritual objects required for the complex and diverse rituals and decorations fueled by the expansion of the popularity of Seon Buddhism since the lae Unified Silla period.