[News Terms] Gobusik Ceremony for Repatriated Buddhist Cultural Assets

'Gobulsik (告佛式)' refers to a ritual of reporting to the Buddha. In other words, it is a ceremony to report important events that have occurred within the Buddhist community to the Buddha.

The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and the Cultural Heritage Administration will hold a Gobulsik ceremony for the restitution of 32 Buddhist cultural assets at 2 p.m. on the 23rd at the Korean Buddhist History and Culture Center.

The Cultural Heritage Administration returned a total of 32 Buddhist cultural heritage items, including 21 Buddhist statues and 11 Buddhist paintings, which were stolen from 14 temples nationwide between 1988 and 2004 and hidden for a long time, to the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. These include the 'Pohang Bogyeongsa Yeongsanhwesangdo (靈山會上圖)' and the 'Gurye Cheoneunsa Jeoseok Cheonsang (帝釋天像) and Arhats (羅漢像)'. The items were recovered after 32 statues and paintings were found at the suspect’s residence, who was caught trying to auction stolen Buddhist paintings in 2020. Following judicial procedures, the items have been returned to their rightful place. Accordingly, the Jogye Order will hold a Gobulsik ceremony tomorrow.

On February 9th, the Sangwol Gyeolsa India Pilgrimage Prayer Ceremony was held at Jogyesa Temple in Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Among the restituted cultural assets, many are treasure-level items such as the Bogyeongsa Yeongsanhwesangdo and the Yugasa Yeongsanhwegwaebul. However, some statues have severe gaps or damage in the wood, and some paintings have been overpainted or additionally mounted, damaging their original form. Cultural heritage appraisal committee members conducted authenticity assessments on all 32 items seized from the suspect and confirmed that these cultural assets were stolen at different times from 14 temples affiliated with the Jogye Order nationwide.

The Cultural Heritage Administration had entrusted and managed these cultural assets, which were voluntarily submitted until the suspect’s case verdict was issued, in the climate-controlled storage of the National Palace Museum of Korea. Last month, when the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office decided to return the seized cultural assets to their original owners, the items were returned to the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, to which the original temples belong, allowing the cultural heritage to return to their original temples.

The Jogye Order stated, "The restituted Buddhist cultural heritage will be transported and enshrined at their original temples after the Gobulsik ceremony," and added, "We will strive to improve systems to prevent theft and ensure the prompt return of cultural assets to their original locations, including extending the statute of limitations for theft under the Cultural Heritage Protection Act and abolishing the good-faith acquisition system for cultural properties."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.