On October 27 the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH; General Director: Kim Yeonsoo), an affiliate of the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea, will be hosting an academic symposium to present iconographic research on South Korea’s sole surviving Goryeo-era mural paintings. It will also explore the outcomes of the digital restoration of these murals housed in Josadang Hall at Buseoksa Temple. On this occasion, the NRICH will release online virtual reality content featuring the digital restoration of the mural paintings to the state before they were detached from the building during the Japanese colonial era.

* VR (virtual reality): a cutting-edge technology that allows users to have an immersive experience of a virtual world created by a computer

Josadang Hall at Buseoksa Temple in Yeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province was built during the Goryeo Dynasty. Inside the hall was a tabernacle enshrining a sculpture of Great Master Uisang (625–702). On the wall opposite the sculpture, the Four Guardian Kings, Indra, and Brahma were painted in six separate panels. However, these mural paintings were detached from the wall when Josadang Hall was dismantled for repairs between 1916 and 1919 by the Japanese Government-General of Korea. Plaster was applied to the surfaces of the mural paintings to fill in losses, and they were then framed and stored elsewhere in six separate pieces.

The NRICH analyzed the iconography of the mural paintings in Josadang Hall at Buseoksa Temple with the assistance of experts from related fields as part of the preliminary art historical research for the preservation treatment of the murals. Moreover, by utilizing hyperspectral photography and replicas made by the Japanese Government-General of Korea, it produced illustrations of the mural paintings restored to their state before they were detached from the wall. Based on these efforts, the NRICH developed virtual reality content that allows the appreciation of the mural paintings in a virtual three-dimensional space looking as they did when they were originally on the walls of Josadang Hall.

The VR-based digital restoration of the mural paintings in Josadang Hall at Buseoksa Temple is the first case of the iconography of mural paintings exposed to damage for a long time being thoroughly researched based on historical evidence and then presented in its original state using 3D modeling. This VR content will be uploaded to a website along with other visual materials that record the preservation history of the mural paintings after the modern era.

* Experiencing VR through the website: https://vrart.nrich.kr/buseoksa

* Experiencing VR on smartphones: scan QR code 

In addition to the online release of the VR content, the NRICH will host an academic symposium on the theme of “The Iconographic Study of Mural Paintings in Josadang Hall at Buseoksa Temple and Their Digital Restoration” at the auditorium in the main building of the National Palace Museum of Korea at 2 p.m. on October 27. The first section of the symposium consists of presentations on “The Names of the Deities and the Placement of Iconography in the Mural Paintings of Josadang Hall at Buseoksa Temple” (Park Eunkyung, Dong-a University); “The Beginnings of the Iconography of Brahma, Indra, and the Four Guardian Kings” (Lim Young-ae, Dongguk University); and “The Background and Meaning of the Establishment of Josadang Hall at Buseoksa Temple as Seen through Its Mural Paintings of Guardian Deities” (Shim Yeoung Shiin, Soongsil University). The second section of the symposium is composed of presentations on “Modern-era Records on the Mural Paintings in Josadang Hall at Buseoksa Temple and the Outcomes of Their Digital Restoration” (Park Yoon Hee, NRICH) and “The Scientific Preservation of the Mural Paintings in Josadang Hall at Buseoksa Temple” (Jeong Hyeyoung, NRICH). A VR experience booth for virtually viewing these mural paintings will be available at the symposium. Anyone who is interested can participate in the symposium free of charge.

The NRICH hopes that this academic event unveiling the digitally restored VR version of the mural paintings in Josadang Hall at Buseoksa Temple can provide the public with an opportunity to enjoy a new type of content combining cultural heritage with digitalization. It is also hoped that people will come to further recognize the value of the preservation of mural cultural properties.