Juche

    The talented and wise people of Koguryo created and developed their peculiar customs and culture catering for their sentiments and greatly contributed to the consolidating of the bases for the development of our national culture and the blooming of the eastern culture. Koguryo people’s wisdom and talents were found in cultural relics in the period of Koguryo, which handed down historically. The “gold and copper three idols of Buddha in Yonga 7”is one of the famous typical sculptures in the Koguryo period.

    The sculpture which was unearthed in the site of Koguryo king’s palace in Pyongyang attracted attentions of the academic world home and abroad from the first period of its excavation because of its formative and artistic superiority. It is a statue-formed Buddhist sculpture which is consisted of three images of Buddha who stand on a round stand carved with three-ply lotus in the lower part with the fan-shaped golden ribs, implying the loftiness in Buddhism, on their backs.

    Sculpture is a formative and artistic form of engraving an object in three dimensions with materials such as stone, metals, timbers and plasters. The sculpture is stronger than other fine art works in its visual presentation giving to people. It is because it has the formative method of engraving the object in three dimensions as it is in reality.

    The carving skill was considerably developed in those days of Koguryo. The Chronicles of the Three Kingdoms has the record that Koguryo erected the sculptures of King Tongmyong, founder-king and his wife at the ancestral sanctuaries and shrines to make memorial service before them. This enables us to know that sculptures in Koguryo were important in her cultural life.

    The stone lion, on the stone steps of the Yongmyong temple, which was engraved by depicting such characteristics of a wild animal as a beetling chest, strong forefeet and wide eyes, the dignified and spirited “gold-copper image of Amitabha”discovered in Goksan county, North Hwanghae Province and other sculptures which were unearthed up to now were boldly and majestically carved with vigorous strokes on the basis of detailed and abstract understandings on the objects. They clearly show us the unique characteristics of sculptures in Koguryo.

    Same is in the case of the “gold and copper three idols of Buddha in Yonga 7”. The sculpture was made in the method of making the body of the idols empty to fix an iron stick inside it, and of casting separately the idols of Buddha, gold ribs and stand to attach them into one.

    Faces of Buddhas which are as same as if they breathed including the eyes which are as if they were in meditation and the mouths with slight smiles, dress draperies made by the symmetric method, fin-shaped dress trails, gold ribs describing flames, etc. tell the superior carving and metal casting techniques which were developed in Koguryo.

    An excellent composition of 46 letters in 4 lines was engraved on the back of the gold ribs. The composition explains that a man called Yon completed this sculpture in the Rakrangdong Temple of Pyongyang Wall, Koguryo in 539 A.D. , that is, in Yonga 7. What is noteworthy here is the year “Yonga” which was engraved on the composition. In history years could be instituted only by emperors of the East countries in the middle age. Therefore, the year “Yonga” engraved on the back of the sculpture along with the years such as “Konhung”, “Yonsu” and “Yongrak” tell clearly that Koguryo was the independent and dignified sovereign state as a full-fledged emperor’s state.

    The sculpture which proves the outstanding artistic skills and the might of Koguryo, which had been a powerful sovereign state in the East, and outstanding artistic talents of the people in Koguryo is now exhibited in the room of Koguryo of the Korean Central History Museum.