50th Anniversary Commemorative Address (written by.
(Monk Jihong)

Dalai Lama's message

50 years in Buddhist photos

1974~1988 Take a step

1989~1994 Open your eyes

1995~2004 Capturing the Light of Buddha, 'Bulkwang'

Beyond Prose 2005~2011

2012~2020 Time of Buddhist Light

2021~2024 Return to Prose

50 Years Past, 100 Years Ahead - Bulkwang's 50-Year History

Subscription and Sponsorship Guide

50 years in Buddhist photos

The monthly magazine "Bulkwang," which published its first issue in November 1974, has celebrated its 50th anniversary.
The monthly magazine "Bulkwang" has as many articles and photos as the weight of 50 years.
It contains dense writings by numerous eminent monks and Buddhists who left their mark on Buddhist history, as well as photographs documenting Buddhism of the time.

In November 2024, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the monthly magazine "Bulkwang," we decided to look back on the past 50 years by focusing on the photos published during that time.
A single photo captures a scene that will only be remembered as an old memory.
I feel a sense of responsibility that the writing and photos I have written today will remain as part of Buddhist history in the distant future.

The first photo in the monthly magazine “Bulkwang” was of the statue of the Biseonsa Temple Bell (National Treasure) by artist Ahn Jang-heon, published in the August 1975 issue.
Starting with this photo, and continuing with the photo of the plum blossoms at Hwaeomsa Temple in the September 2024 issue, a total of 360 photos spanning 50 years of the monthly magazine "Bulkwang" were featured in the November issue.

The photos that piled up without rest were so brilliant that I couldn't choose just one, even though they were 438,000 in number.
Monthly "Bulkwang" first selected photos with strong documentary value, focusing on the meaning of the time that has passed.
The photo arrangement was also prioritized in the order in which they were published.
However, some photos were placed appropriately considering the editing design.
Although the photos taken after mid-2010 are not significantly different from the present, I tried to maintain the standard of documentary quality by thinking about the changes that will occur in the near future.
Each selected photo was accompanied by a caption or text from the time, and text explaining the current changes was also added.

The selected photos were divided into six periods according to the magazine's format and content.
Although several photos were used after the first photo of the Sangwonsa Temple bell and the Bicheon was published in the magazine, the copyright notice was not given until the August 1979 issue, four years later, for the Gilt-bronze Buddha Triad of Yeongtapsa Temple (by An Jang-heon).
Looking at this, we can see that the photos used from the first issue to the early 1990s were a means of supporting the text.

Photographers who joined after 1990 participate in editorial design and try to show the uniqueness of their photographs.
From this point on, the color and substance of the Buddhist photo are created.
It is not that the monk Gwanjo and the artist An Jang-heon did not take the photos with the text in mind, but that they are far from the reality of Buddhist light photography.
Their photos will become a strong, Buddhist halo as the years go by.
I pay tribute to the vision of the publisher, the monk, and the editors who have maintained a steady relationship with the two authors and laid the foundation for Buddhist photography.

Every time I turned the pages of a dusty book, I felt a sense of responsibility and burden as I saw the photos.
It was like meeting a reader who said, 'I have every issue of the magazine ever published.'
I thought it was an important task for our juniors to digitize these valuable materials as quickly as possible.
After that, I will be able to collect the photos that I couldn't take this time and create a 'time of Buddhist light' with a completely different feeling.
It may also lay the foundation for the next 100 years of Buddhist worship.

The thing I was most worried about while working on this project was whether I would be able to receive film manuscripts from writers like Ahn Jang-heon, Koo Bon-chang, and Yoon Myeong-suk.
But this was groundless.
All three authors sent their manuscripts faster than expected.
From filming to storage, there was no obstacle in any process, as expected of a master.
In addition to the three authors, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Kang Woon-gu, Yuk Myeong-sim, and Lee Gap-cheol, who kindly allowed me to use their photos among the other “magazine photos,” as well as to the family of the late Han Jeong-sik and to Ha Ji-kwon and Choi Bae-moon, who wrote together for 50 years of Buddhist light.

writing.
Yoo Dong-young (Editor-in-Chief of Monthly Bulkwang)