Kwon Jin-kyu rose from assisting on a giant Buddha to becoming a leading sculptor

Kwon Jin-kyu’s path to becoming a pioneer of modern Korean sculpture began beside a huge Buddha. In 1947, he spent six months assisting with work on the Maitreya statue at Beopjusa Temple on Mount Songnisan in Boeun County, North Chungcheong Province.

The project had begun in 1936 under sculptor Kim Bok-jin, who died four years later before the statue was completed. Kwon worked alongside Yun Ho-jung, who continued the project. After several people took part, the statue was finally completed in 1963. Funding problems and the Korean War forced repeated interruptions, stretching the work from its start to completion over 30 years.

The cement statue later deteriorated rapidly. Workers dismantled it in 1986 and rebuilt it as a 33-metre bronze Buddha in 1990. Kwon’s role as an assistant on the original project marked the beginning of his relationship with sculpture.

The article follows a visit to Kwon’s grave at Manguri History and Culture Park. A bronze reproduction of his self-portrait, originally made in terracotta, stands at the park entrance. The reproduction was installed in 2022 to mark the centenary of his birth. His grave, number 57, lies beyond a steep 250-metre mountain path, alongside the graves of his parents and older brother.

Kwon, who died in 1973, was reportedly the last person buried at Manguri. The cemetery stopped accepting burials that year after decades of serving as a burial place for people moved from other parts of Seoul during urban development. Since the park’s creation began in 1990, many graves have faced relocation, although graves regarded as cultural heritage are excluded. Local residents have documented even ordinary graves in the volume Manguri Epitaphs, with a further humanities series in preparation.