Pensive Bodhisattva (National Treasure No. 83)
A German student once stood before the Pensive Bodhisattva (National Treasure No. 83) in Seoul and reportedly wept — moved so deeply by its expression of quiet contemplation that he could not speak. That reaction speaks to something almost inexplicable: a seventh-century gilded figure, barely larger than a person’s torso, that somehow radiates more emotional…