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Priceless Korean Buddhist art gets long overdue welcome home in Seoul exhibit

Published: 08 Jul. 2025, 18:07

The paintings of ″Ten Underworld Kings″ are on view at the National Palace Museum of Korea in central Seoul on July 8. [YONHAP]

Souls trembling before judgment, a boiling cauldron and a chance at redemption through a blooming lotus — these striking images from a 15th-century Korean Buddhist painting, once lost overseas, have finally returned home.

In one painting of King Byeonseong, the sixth of the “Ten Underworld Kings” paintings, a cauldron violently boils over a wood fire as the souls of the dead cower in fear before the tribunal of sin. This particular scene is called the Boiling Cauldron Hell in Buddhism.

The sixth painting of the ″Ten Underworld Kings″ painting set, featuring King Byeonseong, depicting the theme of rebirth through a lotus flower. [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

While the cauldron typically contains a tormented sinner inside, this version instead replaces the boiling water with a lotus pond filled with blooming lotuses — a representation of the theme of rebirth through a lotus flower. The imagery suggests a hopeful message that even in Hell, repentance can lead one to be reborn in the lotus pond, or the Pure Land, a symbol of paradise.

A complete set of the “Ten Underworld Kings,” comprising 10 paintings, believed to have been created during the 15th-century Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), has been retrieved from Japan and is now on public display in Korea. Only two complete sets of the 10-panel paintings from the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) and early Joseon periods are known to survive, and one of them is now housed in its homeland.

The Korea Heritage Service and the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation unveiled “Ten Underworld Kings” along with a 14th-century Buddhist sutra scroll — the “Transcription of the Zhou Version of the Avatamsaka Sutra [The Flower Garland Sutra], Volume 22 in Gold on Indigo Paper” — at the National Palace Museum of Korea in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Tuesday.

The 10-panel paintings for “Ten Underworld Kings,” each 66 centimeters (26 inches) wide and 147 centimeters long, feature one of the 10 kings of the afterlife in Buddhism who judge the dead based on their deeds in the earthly realm.

The kings appear prominent and imposing at the top of each panel, while the deceased below are shown in various states of punishment. Although the paintings lack a specific date of production, accompanying inscriptions list donors, including both monks and laypeople, suggesting that commoners commissioned the works.

“Complete sets of ‘Ten Underworld Kings’ from early Joseon are extremely rare,” said Park Eun-kyung, professor emeritus of art history at Dong-A University and an expert in early Joseon Buddhist art. “This set provides crucial insight into the transition from Goryeo to Joseon Buddhist painting.

The entire 10 paneled paintings for “Ten Underworld Kings,” each featuring one of the 10 kings of the afterlife in Buddhism who judge the dead based on their earthly deeds. [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

“In addition to the geumni [golden pigment] line drawing techniques of Goryeo Buddhist paintings, the repatriated work also preserves iconographic features such as eagles and snakes, allowing scholars to date its creation as late as the 15th century,” she said.

She added that the depiction of rebirth through a lotus flower, shown in the sixth panel featuring King Byeonseong, is an unprecedented motif in “Ten Underworld Kings” paintings, making it particularly valuable for scholarly research.

The Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation acquired the entire set at an auction in Japan in August 2023, after learning of its sale, and successfully repatriated the works in November 2024. The paintings had previously been featured in a 1996 publication titled "Illustrated Catalog of Old Korean Calligraphy and Painting from the Yuhyeonjae Collection," published by Takeo Irie, a collector and art dealer based in Kyoto, Japan.

The second artifact revealed the same day, “Transcription of the Zhou Version of the Avatamsaka Sutra [The Flower Garland Sutra], Volume 22 in Gold on Indigo Paper,” is a handwritten Buddhist scripture scroll from the Goryeo period characterized by golden pigments on indigo paper.

The piece is a sagyeong, meaning transcribed sutras or the act of transcribing Buddhist sutras to distribute them or to fulfill a deed deemed good in the eyes of the deity.

An excerpt from “Transcription of the Zhou Version of the Avatamsaka Sutra [The Flower Garland Sutra], Volume 22 in Gold on Indigo Paper” [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

Measuring nearly 11 meters when unrolled, the scroll is a complete manuscript depicting the 22nd volume out of the entire 80 volumes of the Zhou Version, featuring an illustrated front cover, a prayer of dedication, a byeonsangdo (illustration of Buddhist teachings) and the main scripture text.

“Judging by the prayer text, this scroll appears to be of the same origin as ‘Transcription of the Avatamsaka Sutra, Volume 15 in Gold on Indigo Paper,’ designated as a treasure and housed at the Coreana Cosmetics Museum,” said Bae Young-il, head of the Jogye Order’s Magoksa Sungbo Museum.

“Though the monks who transcribed the scriptures appear to be different, this repatriated scroll features intricate byeonsangdo, smooth calligraphy and is in excellent condition — qualities that make it worthy of being designated a National Treasure.”

The scroll’s written prayer states that it was completed in 1334 by Jeongdokmandara (1290-?), a Goryeo-era Korean eunuch who served in China's Yuan Dynasty court (1271-1368) after leaving Goryeo during the reign of King Chungnyeol (1236-1308). The dedication expresses gratitude to his parents and the emperor, marking the work as a pious act conducted during the third year of King Chungsuk’s (1294-1339) restoration.

An excerpt from “Transcription of the Zhou Version of the Avatamsaka Sutra [The Flower Garland Sutra], Volume 22 in Gold on Indigo Paper” [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

An excerpt from “Transcription of the Zhou Version of the Avatamsaka Sutra [The Flower Garland Sutra, Volume 22 in Gold on Indigo Paper” [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

According to the Korea Heritage Service, the scroll’s existence came to light only in October last year, when its Japanese owner offered to sell it to the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation.

“The owner purchased the scroll at a Japanese antique auction in 2023 and then reached out to us,” said Kang Hae-seung, head of the foundation’s circulation research division. “Following thorough verification and negotiations, we brought it back to Korea in April.”

“It is significant to unveil this invaluable Korean cultural heritage retrieved from Japan at a time when the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation is just a month away,” said Choi Eung-chon, head of the Korea Heritage Service.

“The retrieved transcription and ‘Ten Underworld Kings’ painting set are embodiments of the splendid Buddhist art from the Goryeo Dynasty and the early Joseon Dynasty, respectively.”

The repatriation of the works was funded through Korea’s lottery proceeds.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KANG HYE-RAN [[email protected]]