• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.20
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• pp.43-54
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• 2007

The Muryangsa temple five-storied stone pagoda (Treasure No. 185) was geographically located in the area of the Baekje Kingdom. The architectural style of the Muryangsa temple five-storied stone pagoda is the pagoda at the early Goryeo Dynasty that was succeeded technique of the Baekje Kingdom and form of the Shilla Kingdom. Because this pagoda is located outside during old time that it received serious petrological and biological weathering in rock blocks and occurred the center subsidence in the upper capstone. This study executed ground stability interpretation in order to know what central subsidence in the upper capstone occurred for soft ground. The ground stability interpretation used seismic survey, electrical resistivity survey and GPR survey by non-destructive method. As the result, the ground appeared in the condition which is good. Specially, high resistance zone appeared from electric resistivity survey which come to seem with ground reinforcement harden. Consequently, central subsidence condition in the upper capstone is not by the instability of ground, and is judged with the thing by the structure instability in rock blocks over the upper capstone. This will be applied basic data with the long-term monitoring or preservation countermeasure of the pagoda.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.238-259
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• 2021

Gameunsa Temple is a Buddhist temple from the mid-Silla period. Construction began during the reign of King Munmu and was completed during the second year of King Sinmun's reign (682). This study is based on the results of excavations at the Gameunsa Temple site, exploring the findings presented in the literature in the field of history. This study also investigates the characteristics of the construction plan of Gameunsa Temple and its correlation with the political, social, and religious environment of the time. The results of the study are as follows: (1) First, it is confirmed that all of the buildings in the central block of Gameunsa Temple, such as the pagoda and corridor, the central gate, and the auditorium, fit within 216 cheoks by 216 cheoks (Goguryeo unit of measurement, estimated dimensions 353.30 mm), in terms of the base structure. This fact is highly significant considering the intent of the King in the mid-Silla period to advocate Confucian political ideals at the Donghaegu sites (Daewangam, Igyeondae Pavilion, and Gameunsa Temple), as confirmed by the relationship between the 'Manpasikjeok legend' and the Confucianism of the etiquette and the music; the relationship between the name of the 'Igyeondae Pavilion' and the 'I Ching'; and the relationship between the 'Taegeuk stones excavated from the Gameunsa Temple site' and the 'I Ching.' Additionally, it may be presumed that the number in the "Qian 216" on the Xici shang of 'I Ching' was used as a basis for determining the size of the central block in the early stages of the design of Gameunsa Temple. The layout of the halls and pagodas of Gameunsa Temple was planned to be within a 216-cheok-by-216-cheok area, from the edge to the center, i.e., on the central axis of the temple, in the following order: the central gate and auditorium, the north-south position of Geumdang Hall, the south corridor, the east-west buildings of the auditorium and the winged corridor, the east-west corridor, and the central position of the east-west stone pagoda. (2) Second, the coexistence of Confucianism and Buddhism in the architecture of Gameunsa Temple is based on the understanding of the Golden Light Sutra, originating from the aspirations of King Munmu to obtain the immeasurable merits (陰陽調和時不越序 日月星宿不失常度 風雨隨時無諸災横) and the light of the Buddha, which is metaphorically represented by the sun and the moon illuminating the whole world of Silla, a new nation with a Confucian political ideology, for a long time by "circumambulating the Buddha (旋繞)". It is also presumed that Gyeongheung, who was appointed by King Munmu to be the Guksa in his will and appointed as the Gukro after the enthronement of King Sinmun, was deeply involved in the conception and realization of the syncretism of Confucianism and Buddhism.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.460-466
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• 2011

Kameun temple was constructed in A.D. 682 after 46 year after Chumsungdae was constructed. This paper discusses the scientific implication of Taegeuk stone rods of Kameun temple site through the geometric analysis of their engraved figures. So we can estimate that the west Taegeuk of Kameun temple site has 2 circles comparing the path of the moon with that of the sun leading to the asymmetry in its emblem(Taegeuk) and the east Taegeuk of Kameun temple site has 1 circle representing the path of the sun. The Taegeuks along with around 30 equilateral triangles representing the north latitude $35.8^{\circ}$ give the explicit information of period of the orbit of the moon and the sun. These mathematical methods can explain some relics structure of antiquity with a few historical expounds.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.242-281
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• 2010

There are a large number of Buddhist cultural relics in Mt. Namsan. The cultural relics carry the spirit of people of Shila who dream of Buddhist Elysium and the establishment of Buddhist nation. In the valley and the top of the mountain and on various rock cliff, stone statues of Buddha and stone pagodas stand in harmony with nature. For that reason, Mt. Namsan is called an open-air museum. And it played an important role in establishing 'The UNESCO World Heritage' status for Gyeongdju in December 2000. But sadly, there are many stone relics that have eroded away and damaged from collapsing in the passage of time. The seated stone statue of Buddha in Samreoung valley of Mt. Namsan is one of them. It was created between the 8th and 9th century, and restored without much care nor extensive historical research in 1923. As a result, The face of the Buddha remained with concrete mortar and its nimbus fallen backward and destroyed. Therefore, restoration and repair as well as creation of a statue environment for the statue were urgent. So we immediately started in restoration and repair. First, through the archaeological excavation around the stone Buddha, we carried the stone Buddha on the original position. In order to restore the statues to its original glory created by the Unified Shila Dynasty, we created a restoration plan in corporation with art historians and historians, then restored the jaw and the damage nimbus. Second, we made the weathering & damage map of the stone Buddha. In order to prevent second damage, we cleaned the surface of contaminants with distilled water. Third, we studied restoration method to prevent artificial damage. We recreated parts of his face and halo. Then each parts of the statue were restored to their original position. In the whole process of restoration, we tried to use traditional techniques.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.54-71
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• 2012

This paper investigates Buddhist sculptures of the Gulsan-sa School of Seon Buddhism, which was established by the priest Beomil(梵日) at Myeongju(溟州), present-day Gangneung(江陵) area, and prospered until the late Goryeo period. There are very few surviving Buddhist images at Gulsan2 temple-site showing the Buddhist art when Beomil or his disciples, Gaecheong(開淸) and Haengjeok(行寂), were active, except a set of huge stone pillars for temple-banners and a stone monk stupa. It is therefore necessary to focus on pieces of artworks in Gangneung and nearby areas to explore the characteristics of Buddhist art of Gulsan-sa from the late Silla to early Goryeo period. For example, the stone relief seated Buddha image, one of Four Buddhas of Four Directions, and a stone relief of standing Guardian King both from the stone pagoda at Mujin temple-site(無盡寺址) can be compared with stupa reliefs at the capital Gyeongju area in their high quality of carving. The stone octagonal base showing seven lions on each of seven sides at Boheon-sa(普賢寺) demonstrates that it was made as a part of an octagonal lotus pedestal for a Vairocana Buddha now lost. Since Boheon-sa was erected by Gaechung, a disciple of Beomil as a branch of Gulsan-sa, it is fair to assume that the Vairocana image at Boheon-sa might have been closely related to the Buddhist images at Gulsan-sa in its style and iconography. The stone seated Bodhisattva from Hansong temple-site(寒松寺址) displays a benign face, exquisite necklace, and exotic iconography in its hand gesture and high cylindrical crown. The stone seated Buddha at Cheonghak-sa(靑鶴寺), brought from a temple-site where fragments of roof-tiles with the inscription of Heukam-sa(黑岩寺) were discovered, displays the late Silla and early Goryeo period. Heukam-sa seems to have been related to Gulsan-sa or have been one of the branches of Gulsan-sa. Extant fragments of artworks at Myeongju implicate the high quality of Buddhist art of Gulsan-sa in its iconography and style as well as unique features of Gulsan-sa Seon School.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.90-119
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• 2019

The purpose of this study is to investigate the significance of Buddhist stone art in the cultural zone of Mt. Bukhan. Mt. Bukhan witnessed the prevalence of Buddhist culture in and around it since the introduction of Korean Buddhism and served as the center of Buddhist culture in the nation, where new Buddhist temples continued to be built from the Three Kingdoms Period to the Joseon Period. Of the characteristics of its Buddhist culture, it is very noteworthy that the construction of military temples in and around it in the latter half of Joseon supported the function of Buddhist temples as basic places of worship. These military temples were closely related to the mountain's geopolitical location, traffic routes, and position in the national defense system-- its mountain fortress was an important defense facility. The stone art works of Mt. Bukhan can be categorized into various types, including stone stupas, stone pagodas, rock-carved Buddhas, stone Buddhas, towers and monuments (stone monuments), stone lanterns, flagpole supports, and rock-carved sarira pagodas. There are diverse types of stone art left on the mountain. As for its period characteristics, it is clear that the Buddhist art of Silla spread even to the Gyeonggi region, and that most of the works of stone art were created during the first half of Goryeo and the latter half of Joseon. Starting in Goryeo, the Buddhist temples of the mountain maintained close relations with the royal court by operating as the royal buddhist shrine for the royal family. In the latter part of Joseon, the construction of the Bukhan mountain fortress became the most important opportunity to produce stone art. As for the distribution of the stone artwork, it was usually created in the west part of the mountain from Unified Silla to the first half of Goryeo and in the southern and eastern parts of the mountain from the latter half of Goryeo to the latter half of Joseon. It is estimated that central Buddhist temples of the mountain changed due to Silla's military goal of advancing toward the west coast along the Han River in its early days and the construction of the Bukhan mountain fortress in the latter half of Joseon to protect the capital city. Finally, the stone art of Mt. Bukhan holds very high significance in art history because various types of stone art continued to be created on and around the mountain, the stone artwork of the mountain reflected representative styles for each period, and e rare and ofthe works produced on the mountain exemplified rare and unique styles.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.16
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• pp.4-13
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• 2015

In most gold objects crafted using the granulation technique that have been thus far discovered in the Korean Peninsula, granules were joined using a soldering alloy of gold and silver. However, it was recently revealed through SEM-EDS analysis performed on the ornamented dagger sheath from Gyerim-ro Tomb No.14 in Gyeongju that the gold granules were joined to the surface of this sheath using an entirely different technique. The gold granules on the Gyerim-ro dagger sheath are evenly sized and shaped, the surface has a dendritic texture. Dendritic textures are a characteristic feature of metal alloys, not observed in pure metals. As a matter of fact, the gold granules were made of a ternary alloy of 77wt% Au, 18wt% Ag and 4wt% Cu. Due to this component, the alloy has a melting point below 1000℃ (approximately 980℃), which is significantly lower than 1064℃, the melting temperature of pure gold. This makes it possible to join the gold granules directly to the surface of the sheath by briefly heating them to high temperature, without the use of soldering or any other media. When examined through SEM image, the surface of the sheath showed no traces of soldering, it suggests that the granules were joined through unaided fusion.

• Bangmulgwan gwa yeongu (The National Museum of Korea Journal)
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• v.1
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• pp.234-257
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• 2024

Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light (Gwi) (LKH 10703) donated by the family of the late Lee Kun-Hee to the National Museum of Korea in 2021 is a calligraphy album consisting of sixty-two leaves compiled using butterfly binding. It contains Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light, "Record of the Production of Mugujeong Pagoda by the Order of King Munseong," a postscript by Kim Jeonghui, and an appreciation record by Oh Sechang. This paper has revealed that this album is identical to the material that Suematsu Yasukazu introduced in Volume 15 of the journal Cheonggu hakchong in 1934 and that it includes elaborate copies of Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light and "Record of the Production of Mugujeong Pagoda by the Order of King Munseong" on yellow Chinese paper, both of which were excavated from inside the Mugujeong Pagoda at Changnimsa Temple in Gyeongju in 1824. It has also reconfirmed that it is highly probable that the Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light that Jo Byeongsun, the former director of the Seongam Old Books Museum, unveiled in 1998, is a transcription of the original sutra excavated from Mugujeong Pagoda at Changnimsa Temple in Gyeongju. Moreover, it has concluded that the Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light owned by Park Cheolsang is likely to be another example of copying the transcription of the original sutra excavated from the Mugujeong Pagoda at Changnimsa Temple in Gyeongju. In the album of copies donated by the estate of Lee KunHee, six of the Chinese characters promulgated by Empress Wu were used fifteen times in total. Four of the characters of Empress Wu were utilized ten times in the Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light (national treasure, Bulguksa Temple collection) found among the reliquaries from the Three-story Stone Pagoda at Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongju and were also seen in the album of copies donated by the estate of Lee Kun-Hee. The use of the same characters of Empress Wu and other variant characters suggests that both the album of copies donated by the estate of Lee Kun-Hee and the Bulguksa sutra were based on an edition distributed in the Unified Silla Period during the eighth century. Kim Jeonghui confirmed the exchange of calligraphy between Korea and China through studies on bronze and stone epigraphs. He believed that the Great Dharani Sutra of Undefiled Pure Light and "Record of the Production of Mugujeong Pagoda by the Order of King Munseong" excavated from Mugujeong Pagoda at Changnimsa Temple were authentic materials showing the elegant calligraphic styles that prevailed before the Ouyang Xun style. Thus, the album of copies donated by the estate of Lee Kun-Hee holds great historical and artistic significance in that it is a rare example of Kim Jeonghui's evidential study of a transcribed sutra and an original record of the production of a pagoda from the Unified Silla period.