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

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...

during the reign of King Seongdeok in the Unified Silla 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 temple and Seokguram shrine in

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

. 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, duri ...

'' 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