The entrance to Youngwol Y-Park in Gangwon-do, where the 'Black Extinction, White Prosperity: A Thousand Years of Contemplation' exhibition is being held. [Photo=Youngwol Y-Park]

A contemporary art exhibition paying homage to the monk Jajang Yulsa is taking place in Yeongwol, Gangwon-do, the setting of the movie 'The King's Man.'

The exhibition is hosted by Youngwol Y-Park, a facility renovated and expanded from the former Sulsaem Museum, which was steeped in the legend of King Danjong. The exhibition, titled 'Black Extinction, White Prosperity: A Thousand Years of Contemplation,' runs from the 24th of this month to September 6th.

Organized as a storytelling project to 'discover regional identity,' this contemporary art exhibition is based on the legend that when the Silla-era monk Jajang Yulsa founded Jeongamsa Temple in Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon-do, he prophesied, "If the black is extinguished, peace and prosperity will flourish."

Linking Excellent Content with Regional Exhibition Spaces

This event was selected through the 'Regional Exhibition Activation Project' competition organized by the Korea Arts Management Service under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, following last year’s exhibition at the Samtan Art Mine, a cultural and artistic mine in Jeongseon.

A pixel art portrait of Manjushri Bodhisattva created by artist Wi Sebok using stone fragments collected from China's Mount Wutai, the Bunhwangsa Temple site in Gyeongju, and the Hwangnyongsa Temple site, where Jajang Yulsa practiced a thousand years ago. [Photo=Youngwol Y-Park]

The regional exhibition activation project is designed to expand the art ecosystem and opportunities for cultural and artistic enjoyment by linking high-quality content with local exhibition spaces.

Youngwol Y-Park, located in Jucheon-myeon, Yeongwol-gun, was brought back to life through the creative imagination of sculptor Choi O-kyoung, who transformed the defunct Sulsaem Museum. Choi is a land artist and space planner known for co-founding and directing Haslla Art World, a representative complex cultural space in Gangneung.

Furthermore, the exhibition is all the more significant given its proximity to Beopheungsa Temple, one of the five holy sites of Buddha's relics (Jeokmyeolbogung) established by Jajang Yulsa during the reign of Queen Seondeok of Silla.

The exhibition features 11 active artists creating unique worlds in the Korean and Chinese contemporary art scenes: Kwon Xuejun, Bonggi Park, the Korea-China Art Project SAYA, Yan Bin, Wi Sebok, Lee Jihun, Zhang Yi, Zhou Jianhong, Jioh Choi, Chuni Park, and Julie Hwang.

In preparation for the exhibition, the artists traveled to various sites related to Jajang Yulsa’s pilgrimage, where he met Manjushri Bodhisattva. These included Mount Wutai (Qingliang Mountain) in Shanxi Province, a major Buddhist pilgrimage site; Yunjie Temple in the Zhongnan Mountains of Xi'an; the Yungang Grottoes in Datong, a UNESCO World Heritage site; and the Yingxian Wooden Pagoda, which helps infer the appearance of the nine-story wooden pagoda of Hwangnyongsa Temple that Jajang Yulsa proposed to Queen Seondeok.

Mount Wutai, in particular, is a remote region in China with no direct flights from Korea, known for its high-altitude Buddhist sites at 3,000 meters, where freezing winds prevent trees from growing.

These artworks are the result of the artists contemplating a thousand years of causality (Yeon-gi). Notably, the pixel art portrait of Manjushri Bodhisattva by artist Wi Sebok was crafted from small stone fragments gathered from the sites where Jajang Yulsa practiced a millennium ago.

Other works include a media art piece by artist Zhang Yi, who collected soil from the Taehwaji pond on Mount Wutai, where Jajang Yulsa is said to have encountered Manjushri Bodhisattva. The artist created sculptures of a monk’s head using traditional Chinese techniques and placed them outdoors, allowing them to weather and return to nature, illustrating the Buddhist concept of impermanence.

Exploring Jajang Yulsa’s Compassion and Patriotic Buddhism

Artistic Director Kim Hyung-suk (Director of Gallery Art Island), who curated the exhibition, introduced it as a "root-searching" exhibition that expresses the essence of Gangwon-do through visual arts. He noted, "While contemplating the direction of contemporary art, the exhibition was planned around the keywords of 'regional identity,' 'cultural imagination,' and 'artistic creativity.'"

'Pensive Bodhisattva Lost in Thought' by artist Jioh Choi [Photo=Youngwol Y-Park]

Buddha object work by artist Julie Hwang. [Photo=Youngwol Y-Park]

He emphasized, "Jajang Yulsa returned to Silla's Seorabeol after practicing for seven years in places like Shanxi, China. This exhibition is an aesthetic journey to explore the monk’s profound compassion and spirit of patriotic Buddhism while encountering traces from 1,400 years ago."

Park Shin-jung, CEO of Youngwol Y-Park, who successfully branded the long-closed Sulsaem Museum into a hot spot in Yeongwol, said, "I hope visitors will enjoy a time of reflection, meeting the moving imaginations of contemporary artists in a space where art and culture flow."

Meanwhile, Youngwol Y-Park was selected as a 'Star of Korean Tourism' by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization. During the summer vacation season, it is recommended to visit as part of an art tour or healing getaway, alongside nearby historical and cultural landmarks such as Cheongnyeongpo, Seondol, Jangneung, and the Donggang River.

This event is hosted by Youngwol Y-Park and the Youngwol branch of Haslla Art World, organized by Gaia Corp., and sponsored by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Arts Management Service. The exhibition ambassador is actor Lee Jae-yong, a native of Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, who has also published a life-practice essay titled 'That Day, I Saw Buddha.'

The title of the exhibition was calligraphed by Zhang Fuping, Vice Chairman of the Calligraphers Association of Houma City, Shanxi Province, to symbolize the friendship and cooperation in Korea-China art.

Inside the land art 'Jupiter' by artist Choi O-kyoung [Photo=Youngwol Y-Park]Exterior of the land art 'Jupiter' by artist Choi O-kyoung. From left: Director Kim Hyung-suk, artist Julie Hwang, and CEO Park Shin-jung. [Photo=Youngwol Y-Park]