a preparatory step toward meditation, and the au-
thority of the So ̆n master is incomparably higher than
that of the lecturer. This distinction reflects the pri-
marily So ̆n orientation of Korean Buddhism, with doc-
trinal or scriptural study occupying a subordinate or
subsidiary position.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, it is es-
timated that more than ten million Buddhists live in
Korea, mainly in the South. (Although some Buddhist
monasteries exist in North Korea, the number of prac-
ticing Buddhists is negligible, if they do indeed exist.)
Buddhism strengthened its urban presence consider-
ably during the 1980s and 1990s in response to in-
creased activity by Christian churches in South Korea.
Many urban centers of Buddhism were established by
the traditional influential monasteries, and some in-
dependent Buddhist centers have arisen, drawing large
numbers of middle- and upper-class Koreans. Mean-
while, many monks with keen social consciences are
leading movements dedicated to various social, polit-
ical, and environmental causes, including the recon-
ciliation of North and South Korea.
Buddhism has left an indelible mark upon the Ko-
rean people and their culture. The vast majority of Ko-
rean cultural monuments and treasures derive from
Buddhism, and many names of towns and mountains
are of Buddhist origin. Stories and legends with Bud-
dhist motifs abound, as do novels and films based on
Buddhist themes. For centuries Buddhism has pro-
vided Koreans with a way to cope with major misfor-
tunes or crises in life. The belief in the law of karma
and the cycle of birth-and-death has become a part of
the Korean psyche, and the Buddhist teaching that life
is impermanent and full of suffering has been funda-
mental to the Korean worldview ever since the arrival
of Buddhism in the fourth century.
See also:Korea, Buddhist Art in; Korean, Buddhist In-
fluences on Vernacular Literature in; Printing Tech-
nologies
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bany: State University of New York Press, 1983.HEE-SUNGKEELKOREA, BUDDHIST ART INBuddhism, over the one and a half millennia since its
introduction to Korea in the fourth century, has in-
spired the creation of uniquely Korean traditions in
Buddhist art. Korean monarchs and members of the
ruling class from the sixth to the fourteenth centuries
were patrons of the Buddhist religion and supported
the creation of artistic and ceremonial objects and the
construction of the most famous Buddhist monaster-
ies and pagodas in Korea. Buddhism lost these influ-
ential patrons during the Choso ̆n dynasty (1392–
1910), but thereafter gradually permeated among or-
dinary folk, a change that is reflected in the country’s
Buddhist art.KOREA, BUDDHISTART IN