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The First Time Opening Special Exhibition of Dong-A Museum

the seated wooden made Buddhist Goddess of Mercy embracing a thousand year old ginseng in Chunsung Mt. GuanEum temple.

The museum of Dong-A University (the museum director: Ryu, Jongmok) holds a special exhibition as well as a lecture meeting from October 10 to December 31. which opens to the public the seated wooden made Buddhist Goddess of Mercembracing a thousand year old ginseng in Chunsung Mt. GuanEum-temple.
This Bodhisattva statue enshrined in Wonkwang-Temple located at Onchun 1 Dong Dongrae Gu, Busan was made in 1502 (8th year in Yonsan reign) and remodeled in 1706. This statue contained eight-leaf shaped dish, various of grains wrapped in paper, glass goods, ginseng presumed in Koryo dynasty and 47 pieces of costumes.
Traditional culture school and training institute in Cultural Heritage Administration opened the result of academic research on the Statue and the relic of Costumes on the last February 23. As the result of radiation carbon dating, it was revealed that this ginseng belongs to 1060 AD( 80BP), and was confirmed this is unique Koryo ginseng. There was a record that ginseng was put in the Buddhist statue, but this is the first time Koryo ginseng was found as a form of real one.
This Bodhisattva statue which is 67cm in height, 30.3cm in shoulder breadth, and 45.8cm in knee breadth is characterized by broad shoulder, dignified appearance, long stature, smooth face and simple physical beauty.
This Statue shows different features from other ones in the same period, which are dignified facial expression, hairs falling down, simplicity lacking in necklace and clothes trains drooped forward down.
According to the Traditional Cultural Training Institute's analysis for the Statue's material, the Statue's face and body was made of pine wood, arms and legs of ginkgo wood, which shows different wood materials were used and joined, and especially hair style in the back side is unusual.


The origin and history of the Statue was revealed through the optative sentence (the detailed statement about making of Buddhist statue) found in the relic of costumes and Gaegum writing (the writing about plating the Buddhist statue with gold), that is to say, the Statue was made by the local people and monks who took part in the making of the Statue. Originally in 1364, there was bronze made Amita Three Respected Buddhist Statue but as BoCheo Buddhist statue disappeared, Do You, the chief priest of Hunggyo Temple, is said to have made the Hypsi Bodhisattva statue with wood enshrined in EunsanHyun Chengseng Mt. GuanEum Temple in Pyungan south province.
On the other hand, taking the opportunity of participating in research secretary of bodhisattva statue, professor Jeong Eunwoo, of the department of antiquities history at Dong-A University was requested to preserve this Statue from Wonkwang Temple in the last beginning of August, and this is why Dong-A Museum keep it.
Under the permission of the WonKwang-Temple. this special opening exhibition is to be held. Professor Jeong says about this Statue that Yeonsan era is the time buddhism was suppressed in thorough way so the buddhist priesthood was abolished or the farmland belonged to temple was seized, and the fact that the Statue was made in this hard time is of great significance.