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© John Holstein
 
 
Buseok Temple, North Gyeongsang Province. © John Holstein 2000
 
 
 
 
 

An unidentified structure near the Main Buddha Hall at Bo-gwang Temple, Gyeonggi Province (north of Seoul). © John Holstein 2002
 
 
 
 
 
© John Holstein 1998
 
 
 
An old shack on the Bo-gwang Temple premises. © John Holstein 2002
 
 
 
 
 
The 11th century (Koryo Dynasty) "Yongmiri Maitreya Buddha" couple at Yong-am Temple, in northern Kyeonggi Province. The figures have as many features of folk art as they do of conventional Buddhist art. Note the pockmarks all over the bodies and faces. It's said that the Buddhas were used for target practice by U.S. soldiers during the Korean War. © John Holstein 2002
 
 
 
 
 
The torsos of the figures are carved from the granite cliff, but the heads were carved separately. To the front is the Paju countryside. © John Holstein 2002
 
 
 
 
 
Devotional offerings box at the feet of the Yongmiri Maitreya Buddhas. © John Holstein 2002
 
 
 
 
 
© John Holstein 2002
 
 
Hyeweon Temple, Pyeongchangdong, Seoul. © John Holstein 2003
 
 
 
 
 
Inside Hyewon Temple (Pyoungchangdong, Seoul). The inclusion of animist and Taoist elements in these paintings in Korean Buddhist temples is evidence of the syncretism of animism, Taoism and Buddhism that exists throughout Buddhist Asia. From left: the Mountain God (he always has a tiger at his side), the Hermit, and the Big Dipper Buddha (note the two haloed Sunlight and Moonlight Boddhisatvas closest to the Buddha, and the seven haloed Buddhas representing the stars of the Big Dipper). For more on the Mountain God, see "Mountain Spirits Still Watching Over Korea." In Korea we can see signs of animism even in Christianity (see "Christianity, Shamanism, and Modernization in South Korea"). © John Holstein 2003
 
 
 
 
 
Bori Hermitage, where Lee Seong-gye, founder of the Chosun dynasty, once stayed to study. Geum Mountain, Namhae Island, South Gyeongsang Province. © John Holstein 2006
 
 
 
 
 
At Heungcheon Temple, in Donam-dong, Seoul. © John Holstein 1988
 
 
 
 
 
Chogye Temple, downtown Seoul. (Photo by Cunningham.)
 
 
 
 
 
Chogye Temple. (Photo by Cunningham.)
 
 
 
 
 
Figurine and other offerings at Yeong-am Temple (north of Seoul). © John Holstein 2002
 
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