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Busan Metropolitan City Designates Two Buddhist Paintings Held by Seonamsa Temple as New Cultural Heritage

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Busan Metropolitan City, headed by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, announced that it officially designated and publicly notified the Seonamsa Painting of the Amitabha Buddha Assembly and the Seonamsa Painting of Buddhist Guardian Deities as Busan Metropolitan City-designated cultural heritage on September 30.

Following preliminary review and advance notice by the Tangible Heritage Subcommittee of the Busan Metropolitan City Heritage Committee, the two works were officially designated as a Cultural Heritage Material and a Tangible Cultural Heritage, respectively.

Located at the foot of Baegyangsan Mountain, Seonamsa Temple is a historic Buddhist temple in Busan believed to have been founded during the Silla period. With these new designations, the temple now holds a total of six designated cultural heritage properties.

The Seonamsa Painting of the Amitabha Buddha Assembly was created in 1918 at Seonamsa Temple on Geumjeongsan Mountain in Seomyeon, Dongnae-gun, and enshrined in the temple’s main Dharma hall, as confirmed by the inscription on the painting. The work clearly records its date of creation, place of enshrinement, and list of participants, and provides a clear example of the early artistic style of Wanho, a leading Buddhist monk-painter of the modern period.

The Seonamsa Painting of Buddhist Guardian Deities was created and enshrined at Seonamsa Temple in 1870. Historical records confirm that local residents from areas including Gaeunpo, Dadae-myeon in Dongnae-bu, Goejeong in Saha-myeon, and Dujung-ri made donations and offered prayers for its creation. The monk-painter Wonseon, who created the work, also painted the Beomeosa Painting of the Four Heavenly Kings in 1869. As few of his works survive today, this painting is an important benchmark for understanding his artistic style and career.

Further details on the newly designated cultural heritage are available in the public notices section of the Busan Metropolitan City website at https://www.busan.go.kr/nbgosi. As of the date of the official notice, September 30, 2026, Busan Metropolitan City holds a total of 592 nationally and municipally designated or registered heritage properties: 121 nationally designated or registered properties and 471 municipally designated or registered properties.

Jo Yu-jang, Director-General of the Culture Bureau of Busan Metropolitan City, said, “The new designation of these two Buddhist paintings held by Seonamsa Temple once again demonstrates the historical and artistic value of Buddhist art in Busan.” He added, “We will continue to actively identify Busan’s abundant heritage resources, raise public awareness of them, and preserve and develop them as valuable assets that everyone can enjoy.”