A precious Buddhist painting from Korea's Joseon Dynasty has finally returned home after spending nearly 70 years in the United States. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York announced on Friday that it has officially repatriated the artwork, known as "Siwangdo," to its original home at Sinheung Temple in the coastal city of Sokcho.
The painting, which dates back to 1798 during the Joseon Dynasty period (1392-1910), is one piece from a remarkable 10-painting series that depicts the ten kings of the afterlife according to Buddhist beliefs. Historical evidence suggests that this valuable artwork was illegally removed from the temple's Myeongbujeon hall, which was specifically dedicated to these ten kings, sometime in 1954 when Korea was under United States military administration following the Korean War.
Documentation of the painting's original location comes from multiple sources spanning different time periods. A comprehensive survey conducted by the Japanese government-general of Korea in 1942 officially recorded the painting's presence at Sinheung Temple. Additionally, photographs taken by U.S. military officers between 1953 and 1954 provide further evidence of the artwork's existence at the temple during that tumultuous period in Korean history.
This repatriation represents part of a larger effort to recover scattered pieces of the original "Siwangdo" collection. In 2020, six panels from the same series were successfully returned to South Korea from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). However, four pieces, including the one just returned by the Metropolitan Museum, had remained in overseas collections until now.
The newly returned painting measures 116.8 centimeters in length and 91.4 centimeters in width. It specifically portrays the tenth and final king who, according to Buddhist tradition, serves as the ultimate judge of the deceased. The Metropolitan Museum acquired this particular panel in 2007, decades after it had left Korea.
The successful return of this cultural treasure was made possible through extensive collaboration between multiple organizations. The Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, Sinheung Temple itself, and a dedicated local civic group that campaigns for the recovery of Korean cultural assets taken abroad all worked together to achieve this result.
Lee Sang-rae, who leads the Sokcho-based activist group dedicated to recovering lost cultural heritage, provided insight into the painting's journey to America. He explained that the artwork "appears to have been taken to the U.S. around 1954, immediately after the Korean War." The formal process of recovering the painting began when temple officials and civic activists discovered the work featured on the Metropolitan Museum's website and initiated official discussions for its return in 2023 after thoroughly verifying its origins.
The investigation revealed interesting details about how different pieces of the collection ended up in various American museums. "The 'Siwangdo' pieces held by LACMA and the Met appear to have been taken out of the country at different times," Lee noted. "We prepared various materials to prove the painting originated from Sinheung Temple and to clarify the timing of its removal." He also discovered that contrary to initial assumptions, the museums had acquired their respective panels from different previous owners, not from the same source.
The search for the complete collection continues, as three pieces from the original ten-painting series remain missing. Lee expressed determination to locate these remaining works, stating that his organization "plans to continue searching for the remaining three pieces." Currently, the six "Siwangdo" panels that were returned from LACMA in 2020 are being carefully preserved in storage at Sinheung Temple. The newly returned piece will join them in the temple's collection, and officials are now considering various options for displaying these important cultural artifacts to the public in the future.
