Five Dunhuang manuscripts together

*Unlocking a Thousand-Year Seal: Special Display of the Museum's Dunhuang Buddhist Manuscripts* runs October 23, 2026–January 24, 2027 at the Central Asia Gallery, third floor of the permanent exhibition building, National Museum of Korea, Yongsan, Seoul. It brings together four manuscripts from the museum's collection and one from Seoul National University's Kyujanggak Institute.

Highlights

  • Volume 12 of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra (Da zhidu lun) preserves a donor's inscription dated to 593 CE, during China's Sui dynasty. Museum material analysis provides clues to the paper's fibres and colouring.
  • Volume 5 of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, copied in the eighth or ninth century, is a scroll approximately 578.5 cm long with 5,470 characters and visible corrections.
  • Other museum holdings include volume 136 of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra and volume 7 of the Sūtra of the Names of Buddhas.
  • The original volume 50 from Kyujanggak is scheduled to remain on view only through Sunday, November 22, 2026, before a replica takes its place. Do not confuse this with the exhibition's January 24 closing date.
  • A reconstruction of the Library Cave (Cave 17) at Mogao in Dunhuang gives a sense of the archaeological setting.

Planning your visit

The museum's general hours are 09:30–17:30 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and 09:30–21:00 on Wednesday and Saturday, with admission ending 30 minutes before closing. Address: 137 Seobinggo-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. The press release does not establish a separate ticket price or reservation requirement for this display; verify those details and any temporary gallery closure before visiting.