The Afterlife Journey: Divine Protectors and Guides in Korean Buddhist Painting

Cheeyun Lilian Kwon, professor at the School of Fine Arts, Hongik University, Seoul, discusses the Ksitigarbha painting in the Art Institute’s collection. Influenced by a unique amalgamation of various sources, Korea adopted a vision of the afterlife that was protected by the Ksitigarbha bodhisattva and accompanied by a host of heavenly beings. In this talk, Cheeyun Lilian Kwon discusses the Ksitigarbha painting in light of the Buddhist tradition that became deeply rooted in Korea for over a millennium. Such paintings acted as central agents in the Buddhist rituals dedicated for the dead in pre-modern Korea.
Cheeyun Lilian Kwon is professor in the Arts and Cultural Management Department and the School of Fine Arts, Hongik University, Seoul. She received her PhD in East Asian art from Princeton University and taught Korean and East Asian art at American University and George Mason University. She also served as curator of Korean art at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and curatorial consultant at the Freer and Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian Institution.
This program is generously funded by the National Museum of Korea.