Answer:

Buddhism was first introduced into the Korean peninsula from China in the 4th century CE, when the country was divided into the three kingdoms of Paekche, Koguryŏ, and Silla. Buddhism arrived first in the northern kingdom of Koguryŏ and then gradually spread into the other two kingdoms. As often happened, the new faith was first accepted by the court and then extended to the people. After the unification of the country by the kingdom of Silla in the 660s, Buddhism flourished throughout Korea. The growth of Buddhism in Korea was facilitated by a number of impressive scholars and reformers, including the monk Wonhyŏ Daisa (617–686). He was married and taught an ecumenical version of Buddhism that included all branches and sects. He tried to use music, literature, and dance to express the meaning of Buddhism. Another important scholar of the Silla era was Ŭisang (625–702), who went to China and returned to spread the Hwaom (Huayan in Chinese) sect in Korea. The Chinese Chan sect (Zen, called Sŏn in Korea) was introduced in the 8th century and, by absorbing the Korean versions of Huayan, Tientai, and Pure Land, gradually became the dominant school of Buddhism in Korea, as it did in Vietnam.

Early Korean Buddhism was characterized by a worldly attitude. It emphasized the pragmatic, nationalistic, and aristocratic aspects of the faith. Still, an indigenous tradition of shamanism influenced the development of popular Buddhism throughout the centuries. Buddhist monks danced, sang, and performed the rituals of shamans.

Korean Buddhism reached its zenith during the Koryŏ period (935–1392). In the first part of this period, the Korean Buddhist community was active in the publication of the Tripitaka Koreana, one of the most inclusive editions of Buddhist texts up to that time. After 25 years of research, a monk by the name of Ŭich’ŏn (Daigak Guksa; 1055–1101) published an outstanding three-volume bibliography of Buddhist literature. Ŭich’ŏn also sponsored the growth of the Tientai school in Korea and emphasized the need for cooperation between Sŏn and the other “teaching” schools of Korean Buddhism.

Toward the end of the Koryŏ period, Buddhism suffered from internal corruption and external persecution, especially by the neo-Confucian elite. The government limited the privileges of the monks, and Confucianism replaced Buddhism as the religion of the state. Although the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910) continued these restrictions, Buddhist monks and laypersons fought bravely against invading Japanese armies under Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–98) in 1592 and again in 1597. In the decade before the annexation of Korea by Japan (1910), some effort was made to unify Korean Buddhism. This effort, as well as subsequent efforts by Buddhist missionaries from Japan, was largely in vain.

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