Restoration of Dokseongdo to Jogye Order after 35 Years of Theft

In October 2000, Sinjungdodo and Gwirae Reported Stolen
Monks Who Received Them by Chance Expressed Willingness to Donate

Toxicity

The stolen Buddhist painting Dokseongdo (獨聖圖) from August 1987 returns after 35 years. The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on the 5th that it recovered Dokseongdo and Sinjungdo (神衆圖), reported stolen in October 2000, and returned them to the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism on the 16th of last month. To commemorate the restitution, the Jogye Order will hold a retrieval Buddhist memorial ceremony (告佛式) on the 6th at the General Affairs Office (Korean Buddhist History and Culture Memorial Hall) before the Buddha altar. Cultural Heritage Administration Commissioner Choi Eung-cheon, Jogye Order General Affairs Office Chief Monk Wonhaeng, and others will attend to reflect on the meaning of returning cultural properties to their original place (還至本處), a Buddhist term meaning returning to the original location.

Dokseongdo is a Buddhist painting that was enshrined in the Geungnakjeon Hall of Yongyeonsa Temple in Dalseong-gun, Daegu. Created in 1871, it was housed at Baekryeonam Hermitage of Jeokcheonsa Temple in Cheongdo, Gyeongbuk, but was moved when the hermitage was closed in the late Joseon period. Dokseongdo depicts an old solitary Dokseong (Lonely Saint) centered against a landscape background. The tradition of worshiping Dokseong alone was established in the late Joseon period. This unique form of Korean Buddhism is not seen in Southern Buddhist regions nor in Northern Buddhist regions such as China, Tibet, or Japan. Sinjungdo was enshrined at Dogyeam Hermitage of Cheoneunsa Temple in Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do, founded in the late Goryeo period. It is estimated to have been created in 1897. The painting gathers various guardian deities (諸善伸) who vowed to protect monks and scriptures in one frame, with each deity’s characteristics clearly depicted.

Caution Level

Both paintings were identified as stolen cultural properties last August when Busan Baegunsa Temple and Geoje Daewonsa Temple, which had owned them through donation by chance, applied for city and provincial designated cultural property status. The head monks of each temple, upon learning the facts, expressed their intention to donate them. They said, "As objects of faith, these Buddhist paintings must be returned to their original place even now," and "We sincerely hope that Buddhist cultural properties will never be stolen again." A Cultural Heritage Administration official stated, "Even if the statute of limitations has expired making legal action difficult, or if stolen cultural properties were acquired in good faith, we will continue to promote restitution through persistent persuasion and consensus building."