The Buddhist Painting of Seobongsa Temple, Daegu (Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and the Ten Underworld Kings) was created in 1741 by the painter monk Segwan of Jikjisa Temple together with several other painter monks (Sam Ok, Wolryun, Seojing, Sungan, Jonhye, Woopyeong, and Eungjam). The canvas has been damaged over time, and there are many horizontal lines across the painting as well as sections of peeled paint. The official record that goes along with the painting, however, has remained intact, allowing viewers today to gain a detailed understanding of the circumstances surrounding the painting’s creation. According to this record, the painting (originally known by the title “幽冥會”) was enshrined at Muryangsujeon, a building at Namjangsa Temple in May of the sixth year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1741). Thanks to this record, scholars today not only know where the painting was enshrined but were also made aware of the painting’s original name.

Namjangsa Temple currently houses two other paintings—Amita and the Three Bodhisattvas painting—both of which were created around the same year by the same monks who created the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and the Ten Underworld Kings. All three of these paintings are believed to have been created around the same time. The Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and the Ten Underworld Kings painting accurately shows all of the major characteristics of Segwan’s artistic style (contrast of the key colors of red and green, delicate lines, skilled expression of the human body, thin and arched eyebrows, thin and small eyes, concave lips, etc.) and was created earlier than Segwan’s other representative work ((Painting of the Three Buddhas (1744), housed at Jikjisa Temple)).The painting is also an important resource because it shows that Segwan was called “龍眠山人” at the time.

The painting is currently being preserved at the Gochang Cultural Heritage Preservation Center (Yongin, Gyeonggi-do) as part of a 2018 project for the repair and preservation of Cultural Properties.