Latest news with #Goryeo
Korea Herald
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Heritage Week to kick off Friday
The annual Heritage Week will kick off Friday, hosting programs engaging the public to raise awareness of Korean heritage. At over 400 locations from Seoul to Jeju Island, municipalities will showcase their cultural items or practices of exclusive historic significance, according to the Korea Heritage Service, the agency that has been organizing the free event since last year. 'It's an immersive experience open to people as young as grade schoolers,' a KHS official said. At 'Building Your Own Terrarium' program taking place in Seoul, participants will learn how to make a terrarium, a small glass enclosure for holding plants, at the hanok house and atelier of 19th-century landscape painter Yi Sang-beom. In Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, the 'Hyanggyo and Nature' program will introduce visitors to the history of state-run Confucian schools, or hyanggyo, whose establishment dates back to the Goryeo era (918–1392). The "exceptionally rich biodiversity' around hyanggyo premises will also be touched upon, according to the KHS. 'Nongak for Family' is a family-friendly program, where participants will be led to an open field to perform 'nongak,' traditional farmers' music, that served as both a rite and entertainment. 'Remembering Sunduksa' program on Jeju Island will look at how the Buddhist temple Sunduksa influenced life on the island in an immersive exhibition that will highlight heritage artifacts held at the temple. The Heritage Week runs through June 22. Some programs require reservation at
Time of India
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Dear Hongrang, Mr. Queen & more: 7 best Sageuk dramas currently streaming on Netflix
Sageuk dramas are Korean historical series set in past eras like the Goryeo or Joseon dynasties, often blending fiction or fantasy. From Dear Hongrang to Mr. Sunshine, here are 7 of the best sageuk dramas now streaming on Netflix.
Korea Herald
02-05-2025
- General
- Korea Herald
For first time, SeMoCA holds Buddhist-themed embroidery exhibition
Visitors will have rare opportunity to see robes worn by revered monks who played key roles in Korea's history In celebration of Buddha's Birthday, the Seoul Museum of Craft Art (SeMoCA) is presenting South Korea's first and largest Buddhist-themed embroidery exhibition, showcasing traditional works and treasured artifacts rarely available for public viewing. Buddha's Birthday, celebrated on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, falls on May 5 this year. Titled 'Weaving Devotion – Sacred Stitches Leading to Nirvana,' the exhibition offers a rare look at traditional embroidered 'Kasaya,' Buddhist monastic robes, including one that has not been on public display in 47 years since its last appearance at a special exhibition at the National Museum of Korea in 1978. Originally a simple garment symbolizing a practitioner's commitment to the path of enlightenment, the Kasaya was adapted across East Asia to suit local climates and cultural norms. In Korea, it evolved into a ritual robe worn over the monastic inner garment, often conferred upon highly esteemed monks who contributed to national peace, social order and unity during times of crisis, according to the SeMoCA. "By looking at the exhibition, visitors will have a deeper understanding of the people's desires, hopes and dreams from that time. They could also compare them to the dreams we have today and see the differences and similarities," Kim Soo-jung, director of SeMoCA, said during a press tour on Wednesday. Among the highlights is a restored Kasaya robe donated by the late Heo Dong-hwa, former president of the Korean Museum Association, restored in collaboration with the Cultural Heritage Conservation Science Center. The exhibition features some 55 pieces, including embroidered Kasaya robes and portraits of esteemed monks dating from the Goryeo era (918–1392) to the modern era. Many of the artifacts have been carefully preserved at major temples nationwide. Of particular note are ceremonial robes once worn by Seosan Daesa and Samyeong Daesa, two revered monks who played critical roles during the Japanese invasions of Korea in the late 16th century. The robes were conferred by King Seonjo of the Joseon era in recognition of the monks' leadership in organizing monastic militias to reclaim the capital. Running alongside the main exhibition is 'Light Awakens the Heart,' a special display in the museum's lobby commemorating the fifth anniversary of Yondeunghoe — the Lotus Lantern Festival -- being inscribed on UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. 'Weaving Devotion – Sacred Stitches Leading to Nirvana' runs through July 27 at the Seoul Museum of Craft Art. Admission is free. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, except Mondays.
Korea Herald
25-04-2025
- Korea Herald
Going ‘home': Contested Buddha statue to return to Japan
A 14th-century Buddhist statue will travel from here to Japan on May 10 after Korea's Supreme Court ruled it should be returned to the Japanese temple it was smuggled from, according to Japanese media outlets. The handover will take place when the head monk from Japan's Kannonnji temple in Tsushima, Nagasaki prefecture, visits Buseoksa in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. The Korean temple, believed to be the real owner of the Gilt-bronze Seated Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, maintains the relic was looted during the late Goryeo period (918-1392). In 2023, the Korean Supreme Court ruled that Kannonji was the owner regardless of the statue's origins, as it had 'peacefully and openly' held the item for at least 20 years before it was smuggled out of Japan in October 2012. Since December that year, Buseoksa has been in possession of the relic after local police caught the smugglers. Initially decrying the court decision, Buseoksa this year agreed to transfer the relic following a 100-day ceremony through Buddha's Birthday on May 5 that included public viewing of the object.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Found a 1,000-Year-Old Buddha Statue With Stunning Details
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." An ancient Buddha statue from the early Goryeo dynasty was recently discovered at an archaeological site in North Korea. The Goryeo study saw the flourishing of Buddhist art and architecture funded by royalty and wealthy patrons. Depicted by the statue is the Buddha Amitābha, a prominent figure in Mahayana Buddhism. '…there is a world called Ultimate Bliss. In this land a Buddha called Amitābha right now teaches the Dharma.' —excerpt from the Amitābha Sutra With its eyes closed in eternal prayer, a 1.7-meter-tall statue of a Buddha was unearthed by the Korean Archaeology Institute of the Academy of Social Sciences and the National Authority for the Protection of Cultural Heritage at an archaeological site in Yakjon-ri, South Phyongan Province, North Korea. It is an early relic of the Goryeo (pronounced 'Koryo') dynasty, which rose in 918 A.D. and lasted until 1392. Also known as the Golden Age of Buddhism (or the Age of Enlightenment) in Korea, the Goryeo dynasty—which was a Buddhist state—saw the flourishing of religious art and architecture known as Bulsa, or 'Buddhist Projects.' Goryeo Korea was stricken by rainstorms over some periods and droughts during others, and those climate extremes are thought by many archaeologists and historians to have influenced kings to lead deeply religious lifestyles that then spread amongst the people. Rituals were carried out and prayers spoken to the heavens with the hope of a change in the climate, which might explain how artistic visions inspired by Buddhism became so popular. Korean aristocracy sponsored most Bulsa, which ranged from temples (which could never be built in random places, so as not to hurt the veins of the Earth) to sculptures, paintings, illuminated manuscripts, ceramics, and lacquerware. Royals and upper-class patrons were concerned about welfare, stability, and peace in their mortal lives and beyond, which is likely why they were wont to approve and fund projects like this statue. Carved into weathered stone is the face of the Buddha Amitābha, whose name translates to the Buddha of Boundless Light. Amitābha is a prominent figure in Pure Land Buddhism—a branch of Mahayana Buddhism in which believers pray to be reborn in a Pure Land, or a realm where they can study under a Buddha without earthly distractions. The Pure Land of the Buddha Amitābha is known as Sukhavati. Often depicted in Buddhist art, it is a paradise where demigods dwell, trees are always flowering, and lotus flowers bloom in pools where purified souls are reborn. Amitābha is often shown alongside two assistant bodhisattvas (beings on the path towards bodhi or Buddhahood) though this particular statue surfaced alone. Bodhisattvas have reached the highest level of enlightenment, but refrain from entering nirvana to save others from suffering, and are considered deities in Mahayana Buddhism. What is known as the Amitābha triad is brought to life in other early Goryeo sculptures of Amitābha himself—Avalokiteśvara on his right and Mahāsthāmaprāpta to the left. 'Through analysis of the position of the Buddha's two hands and other depictions, scholars confirmed it as the image of Amitābha,' the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reportedly stated in a press release. 'They also deepened the survey of tile pieces from the surroundings and discovered that they were made in the early 10th century, the early period of Goryeo.' While the tiles mentioned have not yet been shown to the public, they may be similar to tile fragments found at the site of a Goryeo temple in North Jeolla Province. Alas, during whose reign this image of Amitābha was built (and who it was built for) remains unknown. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
