To mark the 60th anniversary of its opening, Dongguk University Museum is holding a special exhibition under the theme of “The Buddha Who Came to the Dongguk.” The exhibition consists only of the museum’s collection, allowing visitors to look back on the museum’s 60-year history and see valuable Buddhist art at a glance. It is expected to help Dongguk University develop by promoting the importance of the Dongguk University Museum, where you can see various historical sources and Buddhist artworks and reflect on the meaning of Buddhism. In response, the Dongguk Post intends to learn about the history, academic research, and Buddhist art of the Dongguk University Museum and share the significance of the museum with Donggukians.
Let us introduce the Dongguk University Museum
The Dongguk University Museum has been open since September 1st, 1963, and is currently open from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. on weekdays. The museum was established to collect, store, and display archaeological and art materials related to Buddhism, investigate, discover, and research Buddhist art, notify the academic world, and use them for the education of students. Accordingly, it maintains the distinct characteristics of a comprehensive Buddhist-museum, continues its appropriate activities, and opens Buddhist art exhibitions. After its opening in 1963, Dongguk University Museum has been operating a permanent exhibition hall in the library since 1966. Since 1967, it has consistently held special exhibitions promoting various Buddhist artworks to academia and Dongguk University students. It also has a total of 3,100 artifacts, including two national treasures and nine treasures. The permanent exhibits are displayed in the first exhibition room on the museum’s first floor, located next to the Hyehwa Hall. In the first exhibition hall, eight treasures are displayed. Among them, the Bohyeonin Stone Pagoda is the only one in Korea, which is an important relic that attracts great attention. The exhibits are mainly Buddhist artworks, including Buddhist sculptures, crafts, paintings, and architecture. Outdoor exhibitions are also held, and are displayed around stone objects in the museum’s collection. The stone materials on display include stone foundations from the Three Kingdoms Period to the Goryeo Dynasty, stone pagodas, lower pedestal stones, and millstones, as well as changes in relics according to the times. In addition, a special exhibition is currently being held at the museum to mark the 60th anniversary, and for the special exhibition, about 50 of the holy treasures collected since the opening were carefully selected. They will be exhibited in the special exhibition room on the second floor of the museum from October 11th to December 26th, and it is more meaningful because it is composed only of relics owned by Dongguk University.
Researching to find important Buddhist facts
Academic research and the excavation of remains have been actively conducted since 1964, a year after the museum was established. Major academic surveys include Petroglyphs of Bangudae Terrace in Ulju, Cheonjeon-ri Rock Sculptures, Imgangsa Temple Site in Buyeo, Chungcheongnam-do, and Bunhwang Temple Site in Gyeongju. For the first time as a university museum, has been published, continuing indepth research activities. The Buddhist art publication was recently published in 2021, and contains studies on Pungtak and Pungban by the director of the Dongguk University Museum, and .
Let us learn about the significance of the museum
Kim Ji-eun (Researcher at Dongguk University Museum) replied that the significance of Dongguk University Museum lies in preserving and promoting the value of Buddhist cultural heritage. In addition, as a university museum, it is open to Dongguk University students, and they can watch exhibitions and enjoy culture at any time by utilizing a gap between classes In particular, this special exhibition was prepared to inform how the museum has collected and studied relics over the past 60 years and to get acquainted with the Buddha owned by our museum. “I would appreciate it if you could enjoy Dongguk University Museum’s cultural properties with precious values that other museums do not have,” she added.
Since its opening in 1963, the Dongguk University Museum has contributed to enhancing the academic value of Korean Buddhist art and archaeology through permanent exhibitions, excavation of remains, and publication of specialized academic journals. It can be seen that the significance of the museum is to inform everyone of the value of Buddhist art and to make it easier for Donggukians to enjoy cultural life. The Dongguk Post hopes that students will be able to feel the importance of Buddhist art and the variety of holy books by visiting the special exhibition that runs until December 26th and have a constant interest in.