• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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• v.96
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• pp.54-88
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• 2019

The Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains comprises sixty real scenery landscape paintings depicting Geumgangsan Mountain, the Haegeumgang River, and the eight scenic views of Gwandong regions, as well as fifty-one pieces of writing. It is a rare example in terms of its size and painting style. The paintings in this album, which are densely packed with natural features, follow the painting style of the Southern School yet employ crude and unconventional elements. In them, stones on the mountains are depicted both geometrically and three-dimensionally. Since 1973, parts of this album have been published in some exhibition catalogues. The entire album was opened to the public at the special exhibition "Through the Eyes of Joseon Painters: Real Scenery Landscapes of Korea" held at the National Museum of Korea in 2019. The Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains was attributed to Kim Eung-hwan (1742-1789) due to the signature on the final leaf of the album and the seal reading "Bokheon(painter's penname)" on the currently missing album leaf of Chilbodae Peaks. However, there is a strong possibility that this signature and seal may have been added later. This paper intends to reexamine the creator of this album based on a variety of related factors. In order to understand the production background of Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains, I investigated the eighteenth-century tradition of drawing scenic spots while travelling in which scenery of was depicted during private travels or official excursions. Jeong Seon(1676-1759), Sim Sa-jeong(1707-1769), Kim Yun-gyeom(1711-1775), Choe Buk(1712-after 1786), and Kang Se-hwang(1713-1791) all went on a journey to Geumgangsan Mountain, the most famous travel destination in the late Joseon period, and created paintings of the mountain, including Album of Pungak Mountain in the Sinmyo Year(1711) by Jeong Seon. These painters presented their versions of the traditional scenic spots of Inner Geumgangsan and newly depicted vistas they discovered for themselves. To commemorate their private visits, they produced paintings for their fellow travelers or sponsors in an album format that could include several scenes. While the production of paintings of private travels to Geumgangsan Mountain increased, King Jeongjo(r. 1776-1800) ordered Kim Eung-hwan and Kim Hong-do, court painters at the Dohwaseo(Royal Bureau of Painting), to paint scenic spots in the nine counties of the Yeongdong region and around Geumgangsan Mountain. King Jeongjo selected these two as the painters for the official excursion taking into account their relationship, their administrative experience as regional officials, and their distinct painting styles. Starting in the reign of King Yeongjo(r. 1724-1776), Kim Eung-hwan and Kim Hong-do served as court painters at the Dohwaseo, maintained a close relationship as a senior and a junior and as colleagues, and served as chalbang(chief in large of post stations) in the Yeongnam region. While Kim Hong-do was proficient at applying soft and delicate brushstrokes, Kim Eung-hwan was skilled at depicting the beauty of robust and luxuriant landscapes. Both painters produced about 100 scenes of original drawings over fifty days of the official excursion. Based on these original drawings, they created around seventy album leaves or handscrolls. Their paintings enriched the tradition of depicting scenic spots, particularly Outer Inner Geumgang and the eight scenic views of Gwandong around Geumgangsan Mountain during private journeys in the eighteenth century. Moreover, they newly discovered places of scenic beauty in the Outer Geungang and Yeongdong regions, establishing them as new painting themes. The Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains consists of four volumes. The volumes I, II include twenty-nine paintings of Inner Geumgangsan; the volume III, seventeen scenes of Outer Geumgangsan; and the volume IV, fourteen images of Maritime Geumgangsan and the eight scenic views of Gwandong. These paintings produced on silk show crowded compositions, geometrical depictions of the stones and the mountains, and distinct presentation of the rocky peaks of Geumgangsan Mountain using white and grayish-blue pigments. This album reflects the Joseon painting style of the mid- and late eighteenth century, integrating influences from Jeong Seon, Kang Se-hwang, Sim Sa-jeong, Jeong Chung-yeop(1725-after 1800), and Kim Hong-do. In particular, some paintings in the album show similarities to Kim Hong-do's Album of Famous Mountains in Korea in terms of its compositions and painterly motifs. However, "Yeongrangho Lake," "Haesanjeong Pavilion," and "Wolsongjeong Pavilion" in Kim Eung-hwan's album differ from in the version by Kim Hong-do. Thus, Kim Eung-hwan was influenced by Kim Hong-do, but produced his own distinctive album. The Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains includes scenery of "Jaundam Pool," "Baegundae Peak," "Viewing Birobong Peak at Anmunjeom groove," and "Baekjeongbong Peak," all of which are not depicted in other albums. In his version, Kim Eung-hwan portrayed the characteristics of the natural features in each scenic spot in a detailed and refreshing manner. Moreover, he illustrated stones on the mountains using geometric shapes and added a sense of three-dimensionality using lines and planes. Based on the painting traditions of the Southern School, he established his own characteristics. He also turned natural features into triangular or rectangular chunks. All sixty paintings in this album appear rough and unconventional, but maintain their internal consistency. Each of the fifty-one writings included in the Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains is followed by a painting of a scenic spot. It explains the depicted landscape, thus helping viewers to understand and appreciate the painting. Intimately linked to each painting, the related text notes information on traveling from one scenic spot to the next, the origins of the place names, geographic features, and other related information. Such encyclopedic documentation began in the early nineteenth century and was common in painting albums of Geumgangsan Mountain in the mid- nineteenth century. The text following the painting of Baekhwaam Hermitage in the Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains documents the reconstruction of the Baekhwaam Hermitage in 1845, which provides crucial evidence for dating the text. Therefore, the owner of the Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains might have written the texts or asked someone else to transcribe them in the mid- or late nineteenth century. In this paper, I have inferred the producer of the Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains to be Kim Eung-hwan based on the painting style and the tradition of drawing scenic spots during official trips. Moreover, its affinity with the Handscroll of Pungak Mountain created by Kim Ha-jong(1793-after 1878) after 1865 is another decisive factor in attributing the album to Kim Eung-hwan. In contrast to the Album of Famous Mountains in Korea by Kim Hong-do, the Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains exerted only a minor influence on other painters. The Handscroll of Pungak Mountain by Kim Ha-jong is the sole example that employs the subject matter from the Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains and follows its painting style. In the Handscroll of Pungak Mountain, Kim Ha-jong demonstrated a painting style completely different from that in the Album of Seas and Mountains that he produced fifty years prior in 1816 for Yi Gwang-mun, the magistrate of Chuncheon. He emphasized the idea of "scholar thoughts" by following the compositions, painterly elements, and depictions of figures in the painting manual style from Kim Eung-hwan's Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains. Kim Ha-jong, a member of the Gaeseong Kim clan and the eldest grandson of Kim Eung-hwan, is presumed to have appreciated the paintings depicted in the nature of Album of Complete Views of Seas and Mountains, which had been passed down within the family, and newly transformed them. Furthermore, the contents and narrative styles of Yi Yu-won's writings attached to the paintings in the Handscroll of Pungak Mountain are similar to those of the fifty-one writings in Kim Eunghwan's album. This suggests a possible influence of the inscriptions in Kim Eung-hwan's album or the original texts from which these inscriptions were quoted upon the writings in Kim Ha-jong's handscroll. However, a closer examination will be needed to determine the order of the transcription of the writings. The Album of Complete View of Seas and Mountains differs from Kim Hong-do's paintings of his official trips and other painting albums he influenced. This album is a siginificant artwork in that it broadens the understanding of the art world of Kim Eung-hwan and illustrates another layer of real scenery landscape paintings in the late eighteenth century.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.16-37
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• 2015

As a result of analyzing the forming and the transformations of Seokjojeon Hall garden by linking it to the changes of Deoksugung Palace influenced by the social atmosphere, the Seokjojeon garden can be classified into four phases. The first phase starts from 1896 to 1914. Gyeongungung was built in the late 19th century(1896-1897) as an official palace and Junghwajeon Hall and Seokjojeon Hall was built for Gojong. J.M.Brown was in charge of the construction of Seokjojeon in the beginning but H.W.Davidson saw the end also set up the garden. In the process of forming the garden the incorporating of Dondeokjeon Hall and the demolishing of the west wing corridors of Junghwajeon Hall occurred. At this phase of the garden a statue of an eagle was put up in the garden but was soon taken down. The shape of the garden was quiet simple with a central axial pathway, a round assorted flower bed placed in front of Seokjojeon Hall. The second phase starts from 1915 to 1932 which lasted for 17 years. At the last years of the Great Han Empire the duties of Gungnaebu(宮內府) was transferred to Leewangjik(李王職) in 1911 and a research on the existing buildings was done by Jujeonkwa(主殿課) in 1915. According to the research drawings, the garden still maintained the axial pathway formed in the previous phase but the garden had an asymmetric form. The flower bed was formed in a round shape and an open-knot technique and boundary plantation was applied to the garden. The third phase starts from 1933 to 1937 and is the period when Seokjojeon Hall was made public. By the year of 1932 many buildings of Deoksugung Palace had been demolished in the preparation of the opening of Seokjojeon Hall as a permanent exhibition hall. The central axial pathway still remained in the new garden and added a pond with a turtle statue in the center. The fourth phase starts from 1938 until the liberation from Japan and is the period when Deoksugung Palace became a park. Yi Royal-Family Museum was built and linked to Seokjojeon Hall with a bridge and the garden transformed into a sunken garden. The garden adopted a fountain and a pagora. Despite the minor changes in the after years the garden still posses most of its form from the fourth phase. As we can see the current garden of Seokjojeon Hall is not the same as the initial garden and therefor the importance of this study lies in the fact that modifications to the statements regarding to Seokjojeon Hall garden should be made.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.544-560
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• 2003

The purposes of this study were (1) to investigate the characteristics of the exhibits at three representative science centers or museums in Seoul, and (2) to analyse students' perceptions about the most and the least favorite exhibits selected by students as visitors. Three science centers investigated were Seoul National Science Museum, Seoul Education & Science Research Institute, LG Science Hall. The subjects for students' perception survey were 290 middle school students who visited the three science centers. The investigation of the exhibits showed that the goals, the contents, the visitors' viewing and manipulating activity types, and the explanation types of the exhibits depended on the purposes and the target visitors of each science center. Students' responses indicated that they most favored hands-on exhibit. And students preferred the exhibits that had new and comprehensible contents and the were related to what they had learned in school. Students said that they felt that science was exciting and that they came to experience what they did not do in school. Students said that reading or hearing given explanations was helpful to understand the exhibits, but about 20% of the students responded that they did not read explanation on panels at all. Students also said that guide's oral explanations were more understandable than written explanations on panels. Some of the students commented that having to wait for access because of crowds or because of the resetting time required for hands-on activities was inconvenience.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.101 no.1
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• pp.36-45
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• 2012

Education on the environment and plants offered by arboretum for today's people not only contribute to foster a better natural environment in urban region but also provide visitors with decent refreshment environment and beyond. In the study, the author undertook the observation on usage behavior and satisfaction model of arboretum visitors expect and investigated the facilities and programs to be offered by arboretum in order to propose the opinion regarding the service. For observation size of variables in a multiple regression analysis of variables is influencing satisfaction rankings walks the line of flow, the educational effect on the environment, cleanliness of the facility, visits pay, natural beauty, diversity of trees, accessibility and friendliness of staff, expansion of facilities in the arboretum and appeared as a complement. In case of visitor attribute, the residents living near the facility showed the highest visit frequency of more than 5 times, especially as part of taking a walk. This proves that the visit to arboretum is considered as part of everyday life, and thus a new program and walk path as well as movement route are needed to be developed for the visitors. In the question relating to the facilities and operation programs in Daegu Arboretum, particularly the requests by visitors, they responded that the establishment of cultural event, beautiful natural scenery, refreshment and convenience facilities is the most critical issue. In addition, the management on withered trees and bare lands is an urgent issue as well. In this sense, the Operation and Management Strategies based upon the visitor behaviors and model of satisfaction are needed to deal with the adoption of diverse events and festivals joined by local residents, ombudsman program, environmental program development for students and teachers within the region, negligent bare lands and withered tree replacement, and cafeteria facility improvement and supplement as well as the bench marking of other facilities than arboretums located in other regions. These items are thought to be sufficiently dealt with by Daegu Arboretum having no more external resources. It is recognized that the visitor satisfaction begins from a minor thing, and a small difference determines a great satisfaction, and thus the software approach rather than hardware one is in need.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.110-139
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• 2020

Reclamation is the act of creating new lands by constructing dikes in offshore tidal flats to utilize them for various purposes, including the establishment of farmland to secure food for an increasing population. Based on the fact that reclamation has resulted in drastic changes in the environmental, economic, social, and cultural aspects of land expansion and development, population movement, and the formation of cities since ancient times, I reviewed the value of reclamation sites and addressed the issue of how to preserve and utilize them. "Reclamation culture" refers collectively to the recognition and concept system, behavior styles, and cultural products created by changes in the environment, and the tangible, intangible, and natural heritage generated directly and indirectly by reclamation is defined as "reclamation cultural heritage". It shows that the historical background of reclamation accords with prevailing trends, and that the reclamation sites possess cultural heritage value due to their historical, academic, and scarce characteristics. Numerous reclamation cultural heritage sites at the Gwangwhal and Gyehwa dikes are on the verge of being destroyed, with their original function having ended after the construction of Saemangeum Sea Wall. I propose measures to preserve these under the principle that utilization is based on the basic premise of conservation. First of all, modern and contemporary reclamation sites must necessarily be designated and managed as registered cultural properties, local cultural heritage, future heritage, and agricultural heritage. In particular, as it has been confirmed that reclamation sites created after the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties and the 1950s have not been designated as cultural heritage sites. It is necessary to review the characteristics and values of such reclamation sites through a full survey of national reclamation data. Effective and sustainable utilization of reclamation cultural heritage, which has not been acknowledged in the past due to its close relationship with our lives, is necessary to search for hidden stories found within that heritage, to organize governance for the efficient use of reclamation resources, and to build a museum to collect and display the history and culture of the reclaimed areas. Finally, through links with countries with experience in reclamation, we will be able to cope jointly with international issues such as those pertaining to society, culture, and environment, and would be able to implement various projects to further the advancement of human beings.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.16-31
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• 2013

This study addresses how the main group of community ritual changed as the regional community changed during the period of Japan's colonial rule of Korea with emphasis on Gwanseongmyo in Jangchung-dong, Seoul. First, almost every regional community was changed because of city planning which was carried out by Japan in Korea for colonial exploitation and for the use of military bases. Mapo-dong and Seobinggo-dong were the appropriate examples. The city planning projects by the Japanese colonial government selected Jangchung-dong as the place of settlement of many Japanese people. The stream, Cheonggyecheon, made a border between the Korean and Japanese settlements and the traditional system of regional community in Jangchung-dong was changed and reorganized considerably. Second, the Japanese government used the rituals of regional community purposefully to combine them with the ceremony in the Japanese shrine. Those who supported Japan performed the regional rituals and tried to follow the policy of 'Rule of Culture' required by the Japanese colonial government. However, most regional rituals continued as they were before Japan's colonial rule of Korea without any change. Under this new trend the ritual of Gwanseongmyo was changed from the ritual for worshipping Guan Yu to that of the regional community. Last, the main groups that led the rituals of regional community were diversified during the period of Japan's colonial rule of Korea. In other words, the rituals of community used to be led by the families that lived in the region for generations before Japan's colonial rule of Korea. However, they were later led by various groups that emerged as a result of the colonial rule, urbanization, commercial development, regional differentiation, and so on. As an example,Yeongsinsa of Gwanseongmyo,which was the main group to lead the ritual of Gwanseongmyo, shows that the regional community rituals were extended to worshipping Guan Yu. The members of the main group to lead the ritual were pro-Japanese senior officials who were formerly military officers. This shows that the main groups leading the regional community rituals were further diversified.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.4-23
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• 2015

In the Buddhist paintings of the four devas, there is a change in the paper material of V aisravana(多聞天) in the early Joseon Dynasty. Until Goryeo Dynasty, Damuncheonwang, who holds a tower(塔) on the right side of Buddha was changed to the form which holds a mandolin(琵琶) in the early Joseon Dynasty. This change was first checked in Byeonsangdo in the Yuan period "The Avatamska Sutra(大方廣佛華嚴經, 1330~1336)", however the actual paper material change in the Buddhist painting is found first as a mural at the Tibetan temples, Cheolbangsa(哲蚌寺), Odunsa(吳屯寺), Baekgeosa(白居寺), which showed the change of tower which Vaisravaṇa held into mongoose. In Joseon Dynasty, also, new distribution of the four devas appeared first, which showed the change of paper material in the first floor roof-stones of Wongaksaji sipcheung seoktap, . However, the position of the four devas which held a tower and a mandolin consistently appear in the Buddhist paintings in the early Joseon Dynasty by mixing on the left and the right. This means the possibility that the paper material and the position of the four devas might be flexible in the early Joseon Dynasty. Just like reflecting this, painting image of the four devas in illustration of "saddharma-pundari-ka-$s{\bar{u}}tra$(Ming 1432, National Museum of Korea)" and illustration of "Jebulsejonyeorae-bosaljonjamyeongching-gagok(제불세존여래 보살존자명칭가곡, 1417)" has opposite position from each other. Therefore, the phenomenon in the Buddhist paintings of the early Joseon had a transitional characteristic which did not secure the fixed form of painting image by illustration of two copies where paper materials of the four devas were different, which characteristic can be said to be the characteristic of art in the transitional period.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.103-114
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• 2023

The Christian Museum of Gongju Jeil Church was first built in 1931 and was largely damaged during the Korean War, but the walls and chimneys have been preserved. This building has a high architectural values in that the chapel was reconstructed in 1956, and maintains its original form through repair of damaged parts rather than new construction. The stained glass windows were as installed in 1979 and has a great significance in the Dalle de Verre method using lump glass. However, some of the stained glass damaged partially, such as various cracks and splits, and vertical and horizontal cracks in the joint fillers of supporting the colored glass. As the structural materials of the stained glass window, an iron frame and cement mortar filled with it were used, and corrosion of iron, cracking of mortar and granular decomposition appear partially due to weathering. In the joint fillers, the content of Ca and S is very high, indicating that gypsum were used as admixtures, and the gypsums grow in a rhombohedral and forms a bundle, which is investigated to have undergone recrystallization. As a result of modeling the ultrasonic velocity at the joint fillers, the left and right windows at the entrance show relatively weak in the range of 800 to 1,600m/s, and the lower right corner of the altar window and the upper left corner of the center window were also 1,000 to 1,800m/s, showing relatively low physical properties. And gypsums produced during the neutralization of lime mortar were detected in the joint fillers and contaminants on the surface. Such salts may cause damage to the joint material due to freezing and thawing, so appropriate preventive conservation is required. Also, since various damage types are complexly appearing in stained glass window and joint filler, customized conservation treatment should be reviewed through clinical tests.

• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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• v.96
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• pp.155-180
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• 2019

Samsaebulhoedo(三世佛會圖) at Yongjusa Temple(龍珠寺), regarded as a monumental masterpiece consisting of different elements such as Confucian and Buddhist ideas, palace academy garden and Buddhist artist styles, unique traditional and western painting styles, is one of the representative works that symbolically illustrate the development and innovation of painting in the late Joseon dynasty. However, the absence of painting inscriptions raised persistent controversy over the past half century among researchers as to the matters of estimating its production period, identifying the original author and analyzing style characteristics. In the end, the work failed to gain recognitions commensurate with its historical significance and value. It is the particularly vital issue in that estimating the production period of the existing masterpiece is the beginning of all other discussions. However, this issue has caused the ensuing debates since all details are difficult to be interpreted to a concise form due to a number of different records on painters and mixture of traditional buddhist painting styles used by buddhist painters and innovative western styles used by ordinary painters. Contrary to other ordinary Buddhist paintings, this painting, Samsaebulhoedo, has a praying letter for the royal establishment at the center of the main altar. It should be noted that regarding this painting, its original version-His Royal Highness King, Her Majesty, His Royal Crown Prince主上殿下, 王妃殿下, 世子邸下-was erased and instead added Her Love Majesty慈宮邸下 in front of Her Majesty. This praying letter can be assumed as one of the significant and objective evidence for estimating its production period. The new argument of the late 19th century production focused on this praying letter, and proposed that King Sunjo was then the first-born son when Yongjusa Temple was built in 1790 and it was not until January 1, 1800 that he was ascended to the Crown Prince. In this light, the existing praying letter with the eulogistic title-Crown Prince世子-should be considered revised after his ascension to the throne. Styles and icons bore some resemblance to Samsaebulhoedo at Cheongryongsa Temple or Bongeunsa Temple portrayed by Buddhist painters in the late 19th century. Therefore, the remaining Samsaebulhoedo should be depicted by them in the same period as western styles were introduced in Buddhist painting in later days. Following extensive investigations, praying letters in Buddhist paintings in the late 19th century show that it was usual to record specification such as class, birth date and family name of people during the dynasty at the point of producing Buddhist paintings. It is easy to find that those who passed away decades ago cannot be revised to use eulogistic titles as seen by the praying letters in Samsaebulhoedo at Yongju Temple. As "His Royal Highness King, Her Majesty, His Royal Crown Prince" was generally used around 1790 regardless of the presence of first-born son or Crown Prince, it was rather natural to write the eulogistic title "His Royal Crown Prince" in the praying letter of Samsaebulhoedo. Contrary to ordinary royal hierarchy, Her Love Majesty was placed in front of Her Majesty. Based on this, the praying letter was assumed to be revised since King Jeongjo placed royal status of Hyegyeonggung before the Queen, which was an exceptional case during King Jeongjo's reign, due to unusual relationships among King Jeongjo, Hyegyeonggung and the Queen arising from the death of Crown Prince(思悼世子). At that time, there was a special case of originally writing a formal tripod praying letter, as can be seen from ordinary praying letter in Buddhist paintings, erasing it and adding a special eulogistic title: Her Love Majesty. This indicates that King Jeongjo identified that Hyegyeonggung was erased, and commanded to add it; nevertheless, ceremony leaders of Yongju Temple, built as a palace for holding ceremonies of Hyeonryungwon(顯隆園) are Jeongjo, the son of his father and his wife Hyegyeonggung (Her Love Majesty)(惠慶宮(慈宮)). This revision is believed to be ordered by King Jeongjo on January 17, 1791 when the King paid his first visit to the Hyeonryungwon since the establishment of Hyeonryungwon and Yongju Temple, stopped by Yongju Temple on his way to palace and saw Samsaebulhoedo for the first and last time. As shown above, this letter consisting of special contents and forms can be seen an obvious, objective testament to the original of Samsebulhoedo painted in 1790 when Yongju Temple was built.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.150-169
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• 2020

Surveys of Buddhist ruins at Namsan in Gyeongju began in earnest during the Japanese colonial era, undertaken by Japanese scholars. These surveys of Buddhist remains in Namsan made during the colonial period should be seen as previous research which cannot be ignored in any in-depth study of Buddhist ruins in Gyeongju. Full-scale surveys of Buddhist ruins at Namsan began in the 1920s. Previous surveys conducted around the time of the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910 are generally viewed as only representing preliminary investigations and, thus, have not received much attention. However, these early surveys are significant in that they led to the Buddhist ruins on Namsan becoming widely known in the 1910s and served as the foundations for later studies. The removal of the Seated Medicine Buddha from Samneung Valley in Gyeongju in 1915 and its subsequent exhibition at the Joseon Local Products Expo, which marked the fifth anniversary of the Japanese administration of Korea, was especially important in garnering attention for Namsan's wealth of Buddhist artifacts, as the statue was placed in the main hall of the art museum and attracted a great deal of interest from visitors. It is typically thought that this Seated Medicine Buddha was exhibited in 1915 because it was the most beautiful and well-preserved statue from Namsan. However, the removal of this statue was closely related to the proposed move of the Seokguram statue to Seoul around the time of Korea's annexation. The plan to move Seokguram to Seoul was primarily devised by Terauchi Masatake, and the plan, based on Ilseontongjo-ron ('日鮮同祖論'), a historical theory that prehistoric Korean and Japanese people were of the same blood, and Joseon Jeongcheasoeng-ron ('朝鮮停滯性論'), a historical theory arguing that development had stagnated in Korea, was intended to be a visual demonstration of a new era for Korea. This new era was to proceed under the rule of the Japanese Empire through the dissolution of Gyeongbokgung, the symbol of the Joseon Dynasty, which would be replaced with past glories as symbolized by the statue of Buddha. However, as the plan floundered, the replacement for Seokguram in Seoul ended up being none other than the Seated Medicine Buddha of Samneung Valley. Surveys of the Seated Medicine Buddha began in 1911, administered by Sekino Tadashi, but he likely learned of the statue's location from Moroga Hideo or Kodaira Ryozo, Japanese residents of Gyeongju. It is also probable that these Japanese residents received a request from the Japanese Government General of Korea to find a Buddha statue that was worthy of being displayed at exhibitions. In this way, we can say that the transfer of the Seated Medicine Buddha to Seoul was the result of close cooperation between the Government General, Sekino Tadashi, and Japanese residents of Gyeongju. This also had the effect of removing the magical veil which had shrouded the Buddhist ruins of Namsan. In other words, while the early surveys of Buddhist ruins on Namsan are significant, it is difficult to argue that the surveys were undertaken for purely academic purposes, as they were deeply related to the imperial ambitions of Governor-General Terauchi which encompassed the plans to move Seokguram to Seoul and the successful hosting of the 1915 Expo. It should also be pointed out that the failure of the plan to move Seokguram to Seoul and the preservation of the Seated Stone Buddha of Mireuggok at Namsan was in no small part due to resistance from Korean residents in Gyeongju. Although it is not described in detail in the paper, research is needed which shows that the Korean residents of Gyeongju were not simple bystanders, but agents of history.