The 16th Gwaebul Exhibition
Illuminating the World: Buddhist Hanging Scroll at Sinwonsa Temple

To celebrate Buddha’s Birthday in 2021, the National Museum of Korea is pleased to present its sixteenth exhibition of gwaebul (large-scale Buddhist paintings hung outside a Buddhist hall during rituals), entitled Illuminating the World: Buddhist Hanging Scroll at Sinwonsa Temple.

Approximate 350 years ago, in 1664, the production of a 10-meter-high gwaebul painting was completed at Sinwonsa Temple. The temple is situated at the foot of Gyeryongsan Mountain, one of the most famous mountains in Korea. Just as bodhisattvas and celestial beings gathered at Vulture Peak to listen to the Buddha’s sermon, numerous people must have been assembled in the temple yard to view this colossal hanging scroll. This large hanging scroll witnessed by assemblies of worshippers during the Joseon Dynasty now unfolds in the Buddhist Painting Gallery of the National Museum of Korea. We would like to invite visitors to enjoy a feast of beautiful colors and lines as they encounter this Buddha emitting resplendent rays of colored light and the groups of deities and disciples who gather around.


General Information
ㅇ Period: April 28 (Wed) – September 26 (Sun), 2021   * Exhibition dates are subject to change depending on circumstances.
ㅇVenue: Buddhist Painting Gallery, 2nd Floor in the National Museum of Korea