A remarkable collection of medieval Korean paintings depicting the Ten Kings of Hell has been reunited for the first time in more than 60 years. The Cleveland Museum of Art has brought together ten 14th-century scrolls, including one that had been missing for more than half a century, for a major exhibition exploring beliefs about death and the afterlife in medieval Korea.
The exhibition, Ten Kings of Hell: The Afterlife in Medieval Korea, opened earlier this week and runs until 3 January 2027. Organised in partnership with the National Museum of Korea, it features more than 100 works of art from collections in Korea, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom.
At the centre of the exhibition are ten hanging scrolls dating to the late 14th century, during Korea’s Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). The paintings depict the Ten Kings of Hell, figures associated with Buddhist beliefs about judgement after death. Together, they offer a glimpse into how medieval Koreans imagined the fate of the soul and its journey through the afterlife.
Ten Medieval Paintings Reunited
The Fourth King of Hell, late 14th century, from Korea’s Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Hanging scroll made with ink, colour and gold ink on silk. Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 2019.224.
The ten scrolls, now held by six different museums around the world, have not been displayed together since the 1960s. Their reunification is particularly significant because one of the paintings, The Third King of Hell, had been missing for more than 50 years.
The painting was recently rediscovered at the Museum of Modern Art in Gunma, Japan, allowing the complete set to be assembled for the Cleveland exhibition. The rediscovery also revealed new information about the paintings’ history. A note found alongside the Third King scroll contained a statement by Japanese art historian Wakimoto Rakushiken (1883–1963). It explained that the collection had once been preserved in a Buddhist temple in Nagoya, Japan.
During the late 19th century, the temple experienced financial difficulties following the Meiji government’s anti-Buddhist policies, leading to the sale of the paintings. This discovery has helped researchers reconstruct part of the collection’s history and better understand the transmission of Buddhist art between Korea and Japan.
Death and the Afterlife in Medieval Korea
Inside the exhibition Ten Kings of Hell: The Afterlife in Medieval Korea at the Cleveland Museum of Art, featuring Buddhist-inspired artworks alongside contemporary interpretations of religious imagery. Photo by Shelly Duncan Photography / Cleveland Museum of Art.
The exhibition explores how Buddhist beliefs shaped understandings of death during the Goryeo period. Its three sections follow the soul’s imagined journey from death through purgatory and ultimately towards the Buddhist paradise.
The Ten Kings paintings illustrate a religious tradition in which the deceased faced judgement in the afterlife. These images were part of a broader visual culture that included paintings, ceramics, textiles and other objects associated with Buddhist death rituals.
The exhibition also examines how political upheaval and environmental pressures influenced medieval Korean attitudes towards death. According to the museum, climatic instability during the Little Ice Age and the wider impact of the Black Death form part of the historical context for understanding the period’s preoccupation with the afterlife.
Knife Sheath, 12th century, from Korea’s Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Made of gilt silver and brass, measuring 21.7 cm in length. Cleveland Museum of Art, 2022.38.
Among the other important medieval objects on display are a 12th-century gilt-silver knife sheath, a 14th-century depiction of the bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha, and a newly rediscovered Goryeo-period painting of Water Moon Avalokiteśvara.
“Beliefs in the afterlife are common across diverse cultural and spiritual traditions; many hold that death is not the end, but rather a continuation of existence in another form,” says Dr. Sooa Im McCormick, the Curator of Korean Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art. “While the exhibition offers an immersive journey into the Korean afterlife, it also invites visitors to consider humanity’s universal curiosity about what lies beyond death. By exploring death and the afterlife, I hope that this exhibition offers a compelling lens through which to consider enduring existential questions that connect medieval Korea with contemporary audiences in the US.”
The exhibition also places Korean Buddhist art within a broader East Asian context, examining how religious imagery and ideas travelled between China, Korea and Japan.
A related international symposium, The Rise of the “Ten Kings of Hell” on the Silk Road, will take place at the Cleveland Museum of Art on 20–21 November 2026. Scholars will examine the origins and development of the Ten Kings tradition, including its transmission from Tang-dynasty China through the Korean peninsula and into medieval Japan.
Alongside the medieval objects, the exhibition includes several contemporary artworks exploring themes of death and the afterlife. Visitors can also examine details of selected paintings through a digital display and interact with a three-dimensional representation of a Buddhist sutra container.
Buddhist Portable Shrine, from Korea’s Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). Made of gilt silver, with a statue measuring 4.1 cm in height. National Museum of Korea.
Ten Kings of Hell: The Afterlife in Medieval Korea continues at the Cleveland Museum of Art until 3 January 2027. Click here to learn more.
Top Image: The ten 14th-century Korean scrolls depicting the Ten Kings of Hell, reunited at the Cleveland Museum of Art for the first time since the 1960s. Photo by Shelly Duncan Photography / Cleveland Museum of Art.
A remarkable collection of medieval Korean paintings depicting the Ten Kings of Hell has been reunited for the first time in more than 60 years. The Cleveland Museum of Art has brought together ten 14th-century scrolls, including one that had been missing for more than half a century, for a major exhibition exploring beliefs about death and the afterlife in medieval Korea.
The exhibition, Ten Kings of Hell: The Afterlife in Medieval Korea, opened earlier this week and runs until 3 January 2027. Organised in partnership with the National Museum of Korea, it features more than 100 works of art from collections in Korea, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom.
At the centre of the exhibition are ten hanging scrolls dating to the late 14th century, during Korea’s Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). The paintings depict the Ten Kings of Hell, figures associated with Buddhist beliefs about judgement after death. Together, they offer a glimpse into how medieval Koreans imagined the fate of the soul and its journey through the afterlife.
Ten Medieval Paintings Reunited
The ten scrolls, now held by six different museums around the world, have not been displayed together since the 1960s. Their reunification is particularly significant because one of the paintings, The Third King of Hell, had been missing for more than 50 years.
The painting was recently rediscovered at the Museum of Modern Art in Gunma, Japan, allowing the complete set to be assembled for the Cleveland exhibition. The rediscovery also revealed new information about the paintings’ history. A note found alongside the Third King scroll contained a statement by Japanese art historian Wakimoto Rakushiken (1883–1963). It explained that the collection had once been preserved in a Buddhist temple in Nagoya, Japan.
During the late 19th century, the temple experienced financial difficulties following the Meiji government’s anti-Buddhist policies, leading to the sale of the paintings. This discovery has helped researchers reconstruct part of the collection’s history and better understand the transmission of Buddhist art between Korea and Japan.
Death and the Afterlife in Medieval Korea
The exhibition explores how Buddhist beliefs shaped understandings of death during the Goryeo period. Its three sections follow the soul’s imagined journey from death through purgatory and ultimately towards the Buddhist paradise.
The Ten Kings paintings illustrate a religious tradition in which the deceased faced judgement in the afterlife. These images were part of a broader visual culture that included paintings, ceramics, textiles and other objects associated with Buddhist death rituals.
The exhibition also examines how political upheaval and environmental pressures influenced medieval Korean attitudes towards death. According to the museum, climatic instability during the Little Ice Age and the wider impact of the Black Death form part of the historical context for understanding the period’s preoccupation with the afterlife.
Among the other important medieval objects on display are a 12th-century gilt-silver knife sheath, a 14th-century depiction of the bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha, and a newly rediscovered Goryeo-period painting of Water Moon Avalokiteśvara.
“Beliefs in the afterlife are common across diverse cultural and spiritual traditions; many hold that death is not the end, but rather a continuation of existence in another form,” says Dr. Sooa Im McCormick, the Curator of Korean Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art. “While the exhibition offers an immersive journey into the Korean afterlife, it also invites visitors to consider humanity’s universal curiosity about what lies beyond death. By exploring death and the afterlife, I hope that this exhibition offers a compelling lens through which to consider enduring existential questions that connect medieval Korea with contemporary audiences in the US.”
Medieval Korean Art and the Wider Buddhist World
The exhibition also places Korean Buddhist art within a broader East Asian context, examining how religious imagery and ideas travelled between China, Korea and Japan.
A related international symposium, The Rise of the “Ten Kings of Hell” on the Silk Road, will take place at the Cleveland Museum of Art on 20–21 November 2026. Scholars will examine the origins and development of the Ten Kings tradition, including its transmission from Tang-dynasty China through the Korean peninsula and into medieval Japan.
Alongside the medieval objects, the exhibition includes several contemporary artworks exploring themes of death and the afterlife. Visitors can also examine details of selected paintings through a digital display and interact with a three-dimensional representation of a Buddhist sutra container.
Ten Kings of Hell: The Afterlife in Medieval Korea continues at the Cleveland Museum of Art until 3 January 2027. Click here to learn more.
Top Image: The ten 14th-century Korean scrolls depicting the Ten Kings of Hell, reunited at the Cleveland Museum of Art for the first time since the 1960s. Photo by Shelly Duncan Photography / Cleveland Museum of Art.
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