시왕, 명부전

With Ten Kings

The age of the Chosun Dynasty had the policy of admiring Confucianism and oppressing Buddhism, which caused the decline of Buddhism from the beginning of the Chosen Dynasty. Since the Buddhism in the age of the Chosen Dynasty didn't expect the construction of temple any more by royal supports, it penetrated into a background of society, avoiding the suppression and could maintain its slender existence with private donation. So it accepted folk and local belief at the bottom of people's life and made it Buddhism, but it had the property of esoteric Buddhism and in particular it shows the inclination of polytheism. After the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592 and the 병자호란 war, the religion of the Ten Kings prevailed as an idea of practicing the spirit of 지장 Bodhisattva who saved the world in the hell, praying for their rebirth in the next better world and consequently the Ten Kings were painted a lot.
The idea of the Ten Kings originated in the thought of the middle world that the man will be reborn after staying in the middle world for 49 days after death, which was the foundation of 삼사라 which is the combination of the concept of hell and the view of Buddhists cosmos. The painting of the ten kings was depicting the judgement of the dead before the Ten Kings, depending on the degree of their sins. And there are six areas, including kingdom, human world, Asura, starving ghost, the World of Beasts and hell, depending on the results of judgement, and the place of rebirth was determined by the final judgment of the Ten Kings.

 

The first is the Dosu hell managed by King Jingwang , which is the punishment of nailing the dead in the coffin.
The second is the Bakpi hell managed by King Chokang , which is the punishment of taking the intestine out from the navel.
The third is the Balsul hell managed by King Songjae , which is the punishment of pulling the criminal's tongue out and plowing it by cattle.
The fourth is the Hwaktang hell managed by King Ohkwan , which is the punishment of boiling the criminal in hot iron pot.
The fifth is the Daeae hell managed by King Yeomra , which is the punishment of pounding the criminal in iron mortar.
The sixth is the Dosan hell managed by King Byunsung , which is the punishment of dropping the criminal into the knife mountain.
The seventh is the Geohae hell managed by King Taesan , which is the punishment of sawing the criminal by soldiers.
The eighth is the Cheolsang hell managed by King Pyungdeung , which is the punishment crushing the criminal to the death into a high rocky mountain.
The ninth is the Hanbang hell managed by King Doshi , which is the punishment of shutting the criminal into cold ice mountain.
The tenth is the Hukam hell managed by King Odojunryun , rebirth of the criminal into Yukdo , out of hell gate.