Suwon Designates 9 Items as Gyeonggi Province Cultural Heritage, Including Calligraphy Album of Kings Yeongjo and Jeongjo from Joseon Period

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hoon] Gyeonggi Province announced on the 9th that during the Gyeonggi Province Cultural Heritage Committee meeting held on the 2nd, it designated nine items as Gyeonggi Province cultural heritage, including the 'Calligraphy Album of Kings Yeongjo and Jeongjo Presented to Kim Jong-soo' containing the personal calligraphy of Kings Yeongjo and Jeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty.

The nine items designated as Gyeonggi Province cultural heritage are ▲Suwon Calligraphy Album of Kings Yeongjo and Jeongjo Presented to Kim Jong-soo ▲Anseong Cheongyongsa Temple Amitabha Buddha Assembly Painting ▲Anseong Cheongyongsa Temple Jizang and Ten Kings of Hell Painting ▲Anseong Cheongyongsa Temple Shakyamuni Buddha Triad Assembly Painting ▲Seongnam 'Beobryunsa' Temple Sainted Monks Painting and Enclosed Relics ▲Seongnam 'Beobryunsa' Temple Nectare Painting ▲Uijeongbu Seongbulsa Temple Sainted Monks Painting ▲Pyeongtaek Dongnyeongsa Temple Seonwon Precepts Collective Book ▲Siheung Jinduksa Temple Stone Buddha Seated Statue.

The 'Calligraphy Album of Kings Yeongjo and Jeongjo Presented to Kim Jong-soo', currently held at the Suwon Museum, was mounted with imperial works and calligraphy presented to Kim Jong-soo, who served as Prime Minister during the late Joseon period, during the reigns of King Yeongjo and King Jeongjo's period as crown prince and king. The mounting was done with silk and thick paper.

It is assessed to possess very high cultural heritage value as the documentary evidence regarding the presentation records and timing is clear and the personal calligraphy of Kings Yeongjo and Jeongjo is preserved.

The 'Anseong Cheongyongsa Temple Amitabha Buddha Assembly Painting' is a work created in the late 19th century centered on the Buddhist painter monk Hanbongdang Changyeop.

It well reflects the stylistic characteristics of Buddhist paintings from late 19th century Seoul and Gyeonggi regions, with a composition dividing the picture plane into upper and lower sections and a clearly visible ring-pattern meru pedestal.

The 'Anseong Cheongyongsa Temple Jizang and Ten Kings of Hell Painting' was also created centered on the Buddhist painter monk Hanbongdang Changyeop, depicting Bodhisattva Jizang and the Ten Kings of Hell together. It well reflects the stylistic characteristics of Buddhist paintings from late 19th century Seoul and Gyeonggi regions.

The 'Anseong Cheongyongsa Temple Shakyamuni Buddha Triad Assembly Painting' is a rear-altar painting exceeding 3 meters in size, rarely seen among 19th century Buddhist paintings, with the participation of 17 Buddhist painter monks representing Seoul and Gyeonggi regions, including the chief painter monk Hamdam Cheonsin.

The 'Seongnam Beobryunsa Temple Sainted Monks Painting and Enclosed Relics' from the Joseon period is an important resource for understanding the flow of Gyeonggi region Sainted Monks paintings from the late 19th to early 20th century, with arrangements of music-playing celestial nymphs and attendant figures of guardian deities and hearth deities flanking Vaisravana.

The 'Seongnam Beobryunsa Temple Nectare Painting' from 1889 was created by chief painter monks Beobun Jangjeon, Heogok Geungsum, and Seokjo together. It holds high value as cultural heritage proving the historical existence of Seongnam Beobryunsa Temple.

The 'Uijeongbu Seongbulsa Temple Sainted Monks Painting' shows a combination of the distinctive painterly style of Geumho Yakhyo, a representative Buddhist painter monk of the Gyeryongsan school that was active from the late 19th to early 20th century centered on Magoksa Temple in Gongju, Chungcheongnam Province, and the late 19th century Gyeonggi painting style.

Additionally, the 'Pyeongtaek Dongnyeongsa Temple Seonwon Precepts Collective Book' is a lecture hall textbook and curriculum compiling Zen phrases and gathas (verses praising Buddha's virtues), which was a required subject for monastery monks.

It is a woodblock print edition published in 1582 at Sangwonsa Temple on Yonghwasan Mountain in Gimma-myeon, Iksan City, North Jeolla Province, with typeface and black rectangles from before the Imjin War.

The 'Siheung Jinduksa Temple Stone Buddha Seated Statue' is a work from the late 19th to early 20th century bearing characteristics from the 18th century onward.

It received recognition for its value in being well-preserved and reflecting the historical characteristics of an era in which examples of stone Buddha creation are not numerous.

Lee Hee-wan, Director of the Gyeonggi Province Cultural Heritage Division, stated, "The rare imperial works and calligraphy album containing the personal calligraphy of Kings Yeongjo and Jeongjo, as well as Buddhist cultural heritage such as Buddhist paintings and Buddhist scriptures scattered throughout the province, represent precious cultural heritage demonstrating the diverse cultural traditions possessed by Gyeonggi Province. We will make efforts to widely promote the value of these items and share them with the residents of the province."