Exhibition- An Encounter with Korea Traditional Buddhist Culture in India, the Land of Buddha inaugurated at the National Gallery of Modern Art

The opening ceremony of the special exhibition titled “An Encounter with Korea Traditional Buddhist Culture in India, the Land of Buddha” was held on 22nd March at National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA New Delhi).

Addressing the gathering, the Korean Ambassador to India Mr Chang Jae Bok said, “In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and India, the Buddhism and Buddhist cultural exchange program, which can be the foundation of the special strategic partnership between Korea and India, has a special meaning. Since Buddhism and Buddhist culture were introduced to Korea in the 4th century, they have been an indispensable core part when talking about the Korean way of life, way of thinking, and traditional Korean culture. Korea and India, the origins of Buddhism, are also closely connected through Buddhism.”

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Addressing the gathering, Shri Kumar Tuhin, Director General, ICCR, said that this exhibition highlights the Buddhist connections between Indian and Korea and plays an important role in the people to people contact between the two countries.

On the occasion Smt. Temsunaro Tripathi, Director of NGMA, said the exhibition is a celebration of Korean Buddhism and its ties with Indian Buddhist practices and the shared values of Buddhist doctrines as a part of our dynamic cultural heritage .Buddhism has been an important source of cultural confluence between Indian and Korea. The message of peace and harmony duly emancipated by the doctrines of Buddhism has been evoked through the carefully curated exhibition.

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The special exhibition is a part of the cultural exchange event held by the Republic of Korea and Korean Cultural Centre India, together with the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and India in New Delhi from March 21 to March 25.

The exhibition consists of the media art of Buddhist painting scrolls which are called ‘Gwae Bul’, a symbol of traditional Korean Buddhist rituals, Korean traditional lanterns of ‘Yeondeunghoe’, a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and various photo works with the theme of temple stay. Korea’s traditional Buddhist culture, which has received international attention, will be introduced to India through this exhibition. The exhibition will be held for about a month until 30th April and various experience programs such as painting Korean cultural items, experiencing Korean Buddhist scriptures inking, and making lotus lanterns will be held at the exhibition hall from 22nd March to 25th March in this week.

In addition, Ven. Jeong Kwan, master of temple food, will attend Chandiwala Culinary Institute(BCIHMCT) New Delhi on 23rd March, and GD Goenka University-Le Cordon Bleu on 24th March, local renowned cooking institutes at Delhi NCR for giving special lecture and demonstration of Korean temple food. The final open Korean temple food demonstration and experience will be held at Korean Cultural Centre India on 25th March at 11 am and the program for renowned Indian chefs & Media will be held at 3 pm.

In accordance with the teachings of Buddha who respected life, Korean temple food has preserved vegetarian food traditionally and it has formed one of the roots of Korean traditional food. It will be the first time for this Korean temple food to be introduced to the Indian public, media and local renowned chefs through an official event at Korean Cultural Centre India on this coming 25th March by Ven. Jeong Kwan. Venerable Jeong Kwan, a master of Korean temple food, has joined the Buddhist priesthood at Yang Jin Am of Dong Hwa Temple in Mt. Palgong at the age of 18 in 1974 along with her Korean Buddhist temple food cooking journey. The reason how Ven. Jeong Kwan became famous as a world-class chef is that Eric Ripert, a famous chef in New York, USA, captured a week-long documentary video at Baek Yang Temple in 2014, and in the following year, Ven. Jeong Kwan was invited to New York at the premiere of the work, ‘Chef’s Table’ to prepare VIP dinner reception with her own cooking. Later, ‘Chef’s Table’ became more famous as it was invited to the 67th Berlin International Film Festival in 2017 through Netflix. Since then, Venerable Jeong Kwan has traveled all over the world, including Switzerland, Italy, France, the Netherlands, and Sweden, to introduce Korean temple food.