韓國 古代 佛敎考古學의 硏究現況과 課題

Abstract

The archaeological studies of ancient Korean Buddhism has relatively long history compared to many other fields. After Sachunwangsa temple-site in Gyoungju was first excavated and studied in 1918, studies until 1931 mostly focused on understanding condition of the relics located around Gyoungju, which are related to Silla Buddhism. 1931 inaugurated Research Society of Chosun Historical Remains and it triggered studies on temple sites of not only Silla but also of Koguryo and Baekche. However, the study was weakly done in the era as it was limited to understanding major building sites, so it led to various problems for further studies since then. From colonial emancipation to the 1970s, temple sites were the main theme of art historic studies. The excavation of Gameunsa temple-site collected archaeological attention, but the study was highly limited to architectural perspective as in the past. However, excavation study of Whangyongsa temple-site and Mirueksa temple-site in the mid 1970s to late 1980s was a turning point of temple sites study, since it was thoroughly done with archeological research methods. Afterwards, important temple sites of Baekche were found and studied from 1990s to the mid 2000s, and it led to further encouragement on studying Baekche Buddhism archaeology. Since the late 2000s, re-excavation was done on temple sites that were considered important but weakly analyzed in the past, and errors were revised. To solve problems occurred in studies on the remains of Buddhism since Japanese colonial era, and to make a progress on Buddhism archaeological studies, there should be a thorough and well-done excavation on the entire temple site and additional adjoining regions. In addition, temple sites that are excavated and analyzed weakly in the past should be re-excavated so that their structures and characteristics are clearly defined, and excavation result should be faithfully reported. Studies on temple sites ought to be an interblending of interdisciplinary, macroscopic, and comprehensive researches. History, idea, and doctrine of Buddhism should also be understood in that sense. To solve these problems fundamentally, a foundation of specialist acadeic society such as The Buddhism Archaeological Society and its efforts are immediately needed.