South Gyeongsang Province moves to designate two Tongdosa Buddhist paintings, Sancheong memorial plaques as cultural heritage

South Gyeongsang Province announced Thursday it plans to designate three items as provincial cultural heritage, including two Buddhist paintings from Seochukam Hermitage at Tongdosa Temple in Yangsan. The two paintings — the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva Painting of Seochukam Hermitage at Yangsan Tongdosa Temple and the Five Directional Emperors Painting of Seochukam Hermitage at Yangsan Tongdosa Temple — are slated for designation as provincial tangible cultural heritage, while a set of memorial plaques honoring a virtuous woman of the Posan Gwak clan in Sancheong is to be designated as provincial cultural heritage material.

The Avalokitesvara painting was created in 1730, the sixth year of King Yeongjo's reign, by Buddhist monk-painter Chaein. Its date of creation and artist are clearly documented, making it a benchmark for studying Avalokitesvara paintings from the first half of the 18th century — a period from which such works are extremely rare, lending the painting high scholarly and artistic value.

The Five Directional Emperors painting was produced in 1712, the 38th year of King Sukjong's reign, by monk-painter Seochong for use in suryukjae water-and-land ritual ceremonies. It is notable for its rare iconographic composition, depicting all five directional emperors — Taiho of the East, Yandi of the South, Shaoho of the West, Zhuanxu of the North and the Yellow Emperor of the Center — on a single canvas.

The Sancheong memorial plaques commemorate the deeds of a woman of the Posan Gwak clan connected to the Battle of Hwangseoksan Fortress during the 1597 Japanese invasion of Korea, and offer a window into Joseon-era Confucian virtues and the culture of erecting memorial gates.

"This is a process to systematically preserve and manage cultural heritage of high artistic and scholarly value," said Jeong Yeong-cheol, director of South Gyeongsang Province's culture and sports bureau. "We will actively uncover and preserve local cultural heritage so that residents can share in its value."

The province will gather opinions from various sectors during the public notice period before submitting the items to the provincial cultural heritage committee for review and a final designation decision.