Recommendation
prolog

1.
Wonkaksa Temple, a lost temple

Bosin Gakjong
Sejo and Won-gak-sa Temple
Won-gak-sa-jong and Bo-sin-gak-jong
The beginning and end of Won-gak-sa
Another fate of Won-gak-sa-jong

2.
The king who loved Buddhism and Sakyamuni

Gwangtonggyo Bridge and Lotus Lantern Festival
King Taejong and Queen Sindeok
Jeongneung and Heungcheonsa Temple located within the four gates
Buddha's sarira at Heungcheonsa Temple
King Sejong and Buddhism

3.
Heungcheonsa Temple, carrying on the tradition

Dongdaemun and Heungcheonsa Temple
Sinheungsa Temple and Andong Kim Clan
Heungcheonsa Temple and Heungseon Daewongun
A place depicting paradise

4.
Joseon Buddhism as seen through the Palsangdo and Buddhist paintings

Ho-Am Art Museum
Like a lotus flower that is not stained by mud
Paintings of the birth and renunciation of Buddha
Records of the Palsangdo
Hints hidden in the picture
Clothing expression
Twelve-legged and nine-legged
Palsangdo

5.
Royal Women and Buddhism

Naebuldang and Sambulsamsedo
Buddhist monks and nuns
Queen Munjeong's discord
Prince Hyoryeong and Buddhism

6.
People with a connection to Bongeunsa Temple

Prince Gwangpyeong
The Dojeopje and Seunggwa
Queen Munjeong and Bongeunsa Temple
Bow
Naewondang
Seosan Daesa and Samyeong Daesa
Chusa Kim Jeong-hui and Heungseon Daewongun

7.
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva

Bukhansanseong Fortress and temples
Qing Dynasty jade Buddha
Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
Okcheonam Rock Seated Buddha

8.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva

Baekjung and Urinbunjae
The story of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva's previous life
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and Hell
Changbin Ahn and Wonchal
Patriotic patriot
Go to Dalmasa Temple

9.
Jogyesa Temple

A temple built within the Hanyang city walls
Jogyesa Temple's Daeungjeon and Sipiljeon
Daeungjeon Buddha
Paradise Hall and the Central Buddhist Museum

Epilogue
References
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In the ancient temples of the shining city of Seoul, there exist stories that transcend the ages.
(Omitted) Through “Daily Life is Archaeology, My Solo Trip to Seoul Temples,” I hope that you will put aside your discrimination of good and evil, likes and dislikes, and face the majestic beauty of Seoul’s temples and the Buddhist law that lives and breathes within them without being swayed by emotions of joy and sorrow.
- From the recommendation letter / Jin Woo, Director General of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism

Now, the temple tour departs for Seoul.
Adding interest to your temple tour by viewing Buddhist paintings and statues

When we talk about temple tours, we usually think of famous temples in the provinces like Bulguksa Temple, Haeinsa Temple, and Tongdosa Temple, but there are also temples in Seoul, where historical sites such as Joseon Dynasty palaces remain.

《Daily Life is Archaeology, My Solo Seoul Temple Tour》 is a book that visits temples in Seoul that barely survived the battle with Neo-Confucianism during the Joseon Dynasty, when Buddhism was most persecuted due to the policy of suppressing Buddhism and promoting Confucianism. It reveals the reality and vitality of Joseon Buddhism, while also providing detailed explanations on how to view Buddhist paintings and statues and the Buddhist worldview, making temple tours more interesting.


It is not easy for the general public to gain a deep understanding of Buddhist culture in museums or temples.
No matter how familiar you are with Buddhist terminology and how much you enjoy appreciating Buddhist art, there are always things that are lacking.
In this respect, author Hwang Yun's easy-to-understand explanations are meaningful.
It clearly explains the seemingly endless time and space of Buddhism from India, the land of numbers, and the many Buddhas within it.
Who they are, why they are there, why they are together, etc.
It develops the ability to see Buddhist statues and paintings, and finally brings about a state of understanding.

The Seoul temple tour begins with the story of the lost temple Won-gak-sa, and continues to Heungcheon-sa, Bongeun-sa, Seunggasa, Okcheonam Seated Buddha, Hogukjijang-sa, Darmasa, and Jogyesa.
Here, the appreciation of the representative works of early Joseon Buddhist art, ‘Birth of Buddha’ and ‘Seokga’s Entry into the World’, and the introduction of ‘Eight Phases’ are added, organizing the method of viewing Buddhist paintings and statues.
The process of comparing and analyzing the 'Birth of Buddha' and 'Leaving the Temple of Buddha', which do not have an author, with the 'Eight Phases' of the 'Wolinseokbo' and revealing that they are works from the early Joseon Dynasty based on palace design and clothing styles, is sufficient to arouse archaeological interest.
In addition, through the story of tracing the whereabouts of the Joseon Dynasty's true sarira and which temple the bell in the bell tower was in, we can read the history of Joseon Buddhism and convey the power of Buddhism that survived even during the policy of promoting Confucianism and suppressing Buddhism.

This book is different from other introductions to Seoul temples in that it goes beyond a brief tour of Seoul temples and provides a deeper understanding of Buddhism during the Joseon Dynasty, and even the Buddhist worldview.
In particular, its depth and trust were recognized through the recommendation of Venerable Jinwoo, the General Director of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism.


Author Hwang Yun has been consistently publishing the [Daily Archaeology] series and has attempted various approaches to telling Buddhist stories.
During the Gyeongju and Baekje tours, Buddhist stories were told through the 'Pagoda', and during the National Museum of Korea tour, Buddhist stories were told through the 'Bangasayusang'.
In this episode of “Daily Life is Archaeology, My Solo Seoul Temple Tour,” we presented a new storytelling method for understanding Buddhism through “How to View Buddhist Paintings and Statues.”


The life of Sakyamuni through the 'Eightfold Path'
The rare early Joseon Dynasty art pieces, "The Birth of Buddha" and "The Entry of Buddha", are held in Japan and Germany.

The book introduces the 'Eight Phases of Buddhism', which depicts the life of Sakyamuni, to help understand Buddhism.
There are several versions of the 'Eight Phases Painting', but among them, we will examine in detail two representative works of early Joseon art: the 'Birth of Buddha' (owned by Hongakuji Temple in Fukuoka) and the 'Exodus of Buddha' (owned by the Museum of East Asian Art in Cologne).
Despite being a masterpiece painted in the 15th century, there is not a single copy left in Korea, and Japan and Germany each own one, making it a very regrettable piece.
Recently, they were exhibited side by side in Korea, confirming their beauty and presence.


'The Birth of Buddha' and 'The Leaving of Buddha' are, like other 'Eight Phases' paintings, paintings that depict multiple episodes in one work.
If you follow the author's explanation, you can see that the composition of 'The Birth of Buddha' flows as follows: the birth of Buddha → the only one in heaven and earth → Buddha being washed by nine dragons → Buddha being held by Queen Maya and her nanny while resting under a tree.
The book includes pictures that allow you to zoom in on each scene and examine it in detail, allowing you to see expressions and stories that you might not have noticed when viewing the book as a whole, doubling the impact.

In addition to these two points, the author introduces the 'Palm Tree Painting (18th century)', donated by Chairman Lee Kun-hee and housed in the National Museum of Korea, thereby guiding readers to read each scene of the life of Sakyamuni throughout the entire eight chapters.
Among these, the sixth painting, 'The Tree-Descent of a Demon', depicts the scene where Sakyamuni attains enlightenment without wavering despite various temptations and obstacles under the Bodhi tree, and we can see that it contains the familiar pose of Sakyamuni touching the ground.


The seventh painting, 'Deer Garden Transformation of the Dharma', depicts the scene of Buddha spreading the teachings immediately after enlightenment. Manjushri Bodhisattva (symbolizing the highest wisdom) and Samantabhadra Bodhisattva (symbolizing practice) are shown on either side of Sakyamuni. This is a scene that can still be seen in the main hall where Sakyamuni is enshrined.


Seoul Temple Tour

There are many temples in Seoul, but for this Seoul temple tour, we have carefully selected temples that represent the history of Buddhism during the Joseon Dynasty and created a travel route.
Of course, the process of confirming the characteristics of Buddhist paintings and statues in each temple hall is also interesting.

Wonkaksa Temple
The Seoul temple tour begins at the now-disappeared temple Wonkaksa.
Although it has been closed for a long time and is faintly remembered by the public, it was a famous temple during the early Joseon Dynasty as one of the temples located within the four great gates and its 10-story stone pagoda stood as a landmark.
It is a temple that Chinese and Japanese envoys often visited when visiting Joseon, and the author even said that its status was on par with that of Jogyesa Temple and Lotte Tower today.
The place where the ten-story stone pagoda stands within the four gates! Tapgol Park, where the "Wongaksa Temple Site Ten-story Stone Pagoda" still stands today, is the very site of Wongaksa Temple.


· Heungcheonsa Temple
Heungcheonsa Temple, built as a royal temple of Jeongneung, is a temple characterized by its 'Daebang (大房)', which feels more like a nobleman's house than a temple.
'Daebang' is an unusual structure in the 19th century style, with a H shape that houses various functional spaces, such as a master bedroom, kitchen, and administrative office, within a single building.
You can also find them at Hwagyesa Temple in Seongbuk-gu, Bogwangsa Temple in Paju, and Heungguksa Temple in Namyangju.

The author walks around the main hall of Heungcheonsa Temple and pays attention to the hanging plaques.
Among the five signboards, the one on the left of the signboard of Heungcheonsa Temple, which can be seen in front of Seoseonsil, Okjeongru, and Daebang, is in the handwriting of Heungseon Daewongun (page 125).
Heungseon Daewongun was a fifth cousin of Chusa Kim Jeong-hui and learned calligraphy and orchid cultivation from Kim Jeong-hui, who was 34 years older than him.
Perhaps that is why Heungseon Daewongun's handwriting resembles Kim Jeong-hui's a lot.
This can be seen by comparing it with the signboard of Bongeunsa Temple Panjeon (page 309) written by Kim Jeong-hui.

· Bongeunsa Temple
The oppression of Buddhism during the Joseon Dynasty reached its peak during the reigns of King Yeonsangun and King Jungjong.
During this period, Bongeunsa Temple, one of the representative temples of Seoul, was considered a target for destruction by officials armed with Confucian ideology, even though it was the original temple of Seolleung, the tomb of King Seongjong.
On the other hand, the monks are said to have believed that if Bongeunsa Temple and Bongseonsa Temple (the original temple of Gwangneung, the tomb of King Sejo) held out well, an opportunity would surely come someday.


After King Jungjong died, King Injong, who ascended the throne, passed away after only eight months, and Queen Munjeong's son ascended to the throne at the age of 11, beginning Queen Munjeong's regency.
Although King Jungjong had suppressed Buddhism so much, the period of regency under his wife, Queen Munjeong, marked a period of revival for Buddhism.
During this period, the head priest of Bongeunsa Temple was Bou, who is recorded in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty as “the monk Bou.”
However, even now, if you go to Bongeunsa Temple, there is a building called Bowudang to commemorate Bowu, showing how much respect he has for the monk.
He may have been a villain in the eyes of Confucian scholars armed with Confucian ideology, but in the Buddhist world, he was a hero who revived stagnant Buddhism.
In short, this is a passage that shows that it can be interpreted differently depending on the angle from which it is viewed.

· Patriotic patriots
There is a tomb of the Changbin Ahn clan inside the Dongjak-gu National Cemetery.
To be precise, the National Cemetery was built on the site of the tomb of Lady Ahn Changbin, and it is said that when the national cemetery was built, the Hogukji Jangsa Temple provided 1.19 million square meters of temple land.
Lady Ahn Changbin was a concubine of King Jungjong and bore him three sons and one daughter.
The twist in Changbin Ahn's life occurs after his death.
Since King Jungjong's eldest son, King Injong and King Myeongjong, had no successor, a major incident occurred in which the grandson of a collateral descendant, Lady An Changbin, became king.
He is the ancestor.
Since all the kings of Joseon after Seonjo were descendants of Changbin Ahn, his tomb attracted great attention.


The Hogukji Jangsa Temple, located within the national cemetery, is the original temple of the Changbin Ahn clan's tomb, and can be said to be a temple that symbolizes patriotic Buddhism.
The unique feature of this temple is the open-air Jijangjeon Hall, where you can see as many as 2,500 small Jijang Bosal statues.


· Jogyesa Temple
Surprisingly, Jogyesa Temple's Daeungjeon was originally a building belonging to the new religion 'Bochonkyo', which originated in Jeongeup, Jeollabuk-do.
It was in 1895 that a temple reappeared within the four great gates of Hanyang.
This is the time when Gakhwangsa Temple was founded, 250 years after the abolition of Jasugung and Susunggung, which had served as nunnery temples.
However, during the Japanese colonial period, Buddhism on the Korean Peninsula was under Japanese control.
Manhae Han Yong-un, along with like-minded individuals, opened the 31 head temples' meeting in 1935 and established a representative Buddhist organization called the 'Joseon Buddhist Missionary Association', and planned to renovate Gakhwangsa Temple and operate it as the head temple.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Government-General of Korea began to suppress and pressure the rapidly expanding Bochon Church, ultimately leading to the dissolution of the church itself.
At this time, the main building of the church, Sipiljeon, which the Bochon Church had painstakingly built using building materials from the primeval forests of Mt. Baekdu, was auctioned off to a Japanese person for a mere 500 won.
The Buddhist community paid 12,000 won for the 11-day coin and repurchased it, demolished Gakhwangsa Temple, moved the 11-day coin, and built a new main temple.
After independence, in 1954, the name was changed to Jogyesa Temple, and it remains so to this day.


The royal family's love of Buddhism amidst the policy of suppressing Buddhism and promoting Confucianism

Although Joseon was founded under the slogan of suppressing Buddhism and promoting Confucianism, Buddhism survived throughout the Joseon Dynasty, as evidenced by the temples we can see today.
There may be many reasons for this, but the royal family's love for Buddhism cannot be anything but ironic.

King Taejo Lee Seong-gye built Heungcheonsa Temple within the four great gates when he made Hanyang the capital.
In 1396, when his wife, Queen Sindeok, died, a tomb was built and a temple was built next to it.
There is an anecdote that King Taejo handed over 303 sarira pieces under pressure from the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
Judging from the fact that he was so passionate about collecting sarira, it can be inferred that he was deeply engrossed in Buddhism beyond his love for Queen Sindeok.


Among the Joseon kings, King Sejong can be cited as a representative king who worshipped Buddhism.
King Sejong was a king who showed the appearance of a faithful Confucian monarch by organizing the seven sects into two, Seon and Gyo, and recognizing only 36 temples, 18 from each sect, as state-official temples.
However, after the death of his wife, Queen Soheon in 1448, he rebuilt the inner Buddhist shrine in the palace that had been abolished, and he carried out more active projects, such as ordering his second son, Prince Suyang, to publish a book about the life of Sakyamuni.
At this time, the "Seokbosangjeol" presented by Prince Suyang to King Sejong was the first prose literature written in Hangul. Sejong was so moved by the "Seokbosangjeol" that he personally composed Buddhist hymns for each verse, completing a total of 580 songs. These were compiled into "Worinchon Gangjigok."
The name Wolinchon River means that the Buddha appears in countless worlds beyond time and space to teach, just like the moon reflecting on a thousand rivers.


Prince Suyang, who wrote “Seokbosangjeol,” is the king who continued his love for Buddhism by combining “Seokbosangjeol” and “Worinchongangjigok” written by King Sejong after becoming king (Sejo) and revising it and publishing “Worinchongak.”
While creating the “Seokbo Sangjeol” and “Wolin Seokbo,” he produced a woodblock print depicting the life of Sakyamuni in eight scenes, which became the “Pal Sangdo.”
King Jeongjo was a king who showed an aspect of continuing Buddhism, such as by building Yongjusa Temple near the tomb of his father, Monk Sado.

In addition, another characteristic that allowed Joseon Buddhism to maintain its existence is the participation and support of royal women.
Jeongeopwon, famous as a temple for nuns, had a high-ranking woman as its head priest, and it also had considerable influence, with concubines and women from the noble class participating as monks.
This aspect eventually became the target of criticism from officials armed with Confucian values, but since many of the royal Buddhist paintings painted in the early Joseon Dynasty were often painted alongside Buddhist ceremonies at nuns' temples in the capital, it can be said that they contributed greatly to the Buddhist art of the Joseon Dynasty.

Why Neo-Confucianism Criticized Buddhism
Why Buddhism Didn't Disappear

Many of the temples that still stand today are warriors who survived through the era dominated by Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism, so a trip to Seoul's temples is enough to experience the vitality of Buddhism during the Joseon Dynasty.


Joseon, while claiming to be a Confucian state, kept Buddhism alive thanks to the royal family's special love for Buddhism. However, during the reigns of King Yeonsangun and King Jungjong, the oppression of Buddhism reached its peak. Buddhism was greatly diminished, with Heungcheonsa Temple and Heungdeoksa Temple burning down due to arson by Confucian scholars and Won-gaksa Temple, built by King Sejo, being abandoned.
In terms of institutions, the Dojeop system and the monk examination system were abolished, and it is recorded that even the Buddhist system that had been operated by two sects, Seon and Gyo, since the reign of King Sejong was abolished.


So why did Neo-Confucianism so critically attack and attack Buddhism, a doctrine passed down through the Silla and Goryeo dynasties? Neo-Confucianism is a Confucian theory that originated in China and developed as a critique of Buddhism.
Therefore, the more one fell into Neo-Confucian fundamentalism, the more one looked down on and criticized Buddhism.

Despite this, why did Buddhism persist in Joseon? No matter how much the Joseon rulers, armed with Confucian ideology, criticized Buddhism, Neo-Confucianism had clear limitations: it could not offer clear answers to the challenges of life, which included illness, aging, and death.
In contrast, Buddhism, which suggests the causes and solutions to birth, aging, illness, and death, and also prays for the deceased to be reborn in paradise, was able to establish itself as a place of comfort not only for the common people but also for the royal family.