근대 제주 관음사·법정사 창건에 관한 재고찰 －‘김석윤 창건주’설을 반박하며

Abstract

This article challenges the recent claims surrounding the founding years and founders of Gwaneumsa and Beopjeongsa temples in Jeju, offering a new perspective on these issues. Founded in 1909, Gwaneumsa Temple has played a pivotal role in the spread of Buddhism in Jeju. The temple’s founder, Bongnyeogwan, has also been recognized as a pioneer in reviving Buddhism on the island. However, some recent studies on Gwaneumsa temple argue that Bongnyeogwan was merely the renovator of the temple and that 1908 was the temple’s founding year. Moreover, these studies often assert that the mysterious monk “Master Un,” who passed a kasaya on to Bongnyeogwan, was Kim Seok-yun. Yet, no clear historical evidence supports these claims. Although some studies consider Bongnyeogwan and Kim as the co-founders of Gwaneumsa and Beopjeongsa temples, Kim is not even mentioned in any of the nine or three respective historical documents concerning the two temples. In contrast, all twelve documents record Bongnyeogwan as the sole founder of both temples. Likewise, no historical basis exists to identify a specific individual as Master Un, who is said to have given Bongnyeogwan a kasaya on the Day of Dano in 1908. Kim, identified as Master Un by these studies, was a married man with a child. He was also a follower of the cult of Bocheon, founded by Gang Jeungsan, and the cult of Maitreya, which upheld Gang as the Maitreya Buddha. Therefore, the attempts to link Kim to Buddhism, asserting that he co-founded both temples and was Master Un, distort the historical facts and undermine the foundation of modern Buddhism in Jeju, which wes actually established by Bongnyeogwan. This article systematically analyzes the historical materials regarding Bongnyeogwan, confirming that she was not only the spiritual leader (“opening patriarch of the mountain”), but also the founder and inaugural abbess of Gwaneumsa and Beopjeongsa temples on Mt. Halla in Jeju.