The Korea Heritage Service (Administrator Huh Min) announced Monday that it will provisionally designate the late 19th-century "Seoul Geumseongdang Shamanic Paintings," housed at the Eunpyeong Historical Hanok Museum in Seoul, as a National Folklore Cultural Heritage.
The "Seoul Geumseongdang Shamanic Paintings" were enshrined inside Seoul Geumseongdang, a shamanic shrine that honored both Geumseong Daewang—the mountain god of Mount Geumseong in Naju, Jeolla Province—and Prince Geumseong (1426-1457), the sixth son of King Sejong of the Joseon Dynasty. The paintings provisionally designated this time comprise eight pieces in total, including Sambulsahalmeoni, Maengindosa, Maenginsamsinmanura, Samgungaegissi, Daesinbulsa, Changbugwangdae, Byeolsang, and Malseonang.
Prince Geumseong opposed the usurpation of power by Prince Suyang, the second son of King Sejong, and was executed for attempting to restore his nephew King Danjong to the throne. He later came to be regarded as a symbol of loyalty and was deified in folk beliefs.
"The Geumseongdang Shamanic Paintings depict deities who govern human fortune and disease, such as Maengindosa, Maenginsamsinmanura and Byeolsang, faithfully illustrating the shamanic beliefs of the Seoul and Gyeonggi region," the Korea Heritage Service said.
Nineteenth-century shamanic paintings known to date are extremely rare, giving these works significant scarcity value. They also possess originality and excellence that set them apart from other shamanic paintings in formal terms. Having been actually used in rituals at Seoul Geumseongdang and having preserved the site of shamanic faith, the works carry authenticity and completeness, and hold even greater value as a multidimensional composite heritage combining intangible and tangible elements.
The Geumseongdang Shamanic Paintings also draw attention for their connection to Buddhist painting. Stylistic features frequently seen in Buddhist artwork—such as rounded facial shapes and long, plump fingers—support the possibility that they were painted by a Buddhist monk-painter. The rich three-dimensionality achieved through shading techniques demonstrates a level of descriptive skill higher than that of typical shamanic paintings. Pigment analysis has confirmed that the works were produced in the late 19th century.
The Korea Heritage Service plans to review opinions from various sectors during the 30-day preview period and then finalize the designation as a National Folklore Cultural Heritage following deliberation by the Cultural Heritage Committee (to be reorganized as the National Heritage Committee).
Separately, the Korea Heritage Service on the same day designated "Andong Haknam Historic House," located in Pungsan-eup, Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, as a National Folklore Cultural Heritage.
Located in Omi Village in Andong, a clan village of the Pungsan Kim family, the "Andong Haknam Historic House" was completed in its current "open square" form after Kim Sang-mok (1726-1765) built the inner quarters in 1759 and his grandson Haknam Kim Jung-woo (1780-1849) added the men's quarters and servants' quarters in 1826. The "open square" form refers to a floor plan in which a "ㄷ" shape combines with a straight line, or a "ㄱ" shape combines with a "ㄴ" shape, to create a square with an open corner. While its layout and arrangement belong to the typical square-shaped courtyard house style of the Andong region, the house holds distinctive architectural value as an "open square" form in which the inner and men's quarters are not connected and were built in different periods.
Approximately 10,000 relics passed down within the clan, including old books, historical documents and calligraphy works, are currently entrusted to the Advanced Center for Korean Studies. In particular, diaries left by Haknam's son Kim Doo-heum (1804-1877), Kim Doo-heum's grandson Kim Byeong-hwang (1845-1914), and Kim Byeong-hwang's son Kim Jeong-seop (1862-1934) offer a vivid window into the transformation of 19th-century scholarly culture in Andong and the daily life of the Pungsan Kim family.
"We plan to cooperate with the relevant local governments and owners so that the newly designated 'Andong Haknam Historic House' and the provisionally designated 'Seoul Geumseongdang Shamanic Paintings' can be systematically preserved and managed, and actively utilized as historical, cultural and tourism resources," the Korea Heritage Service said.
