ABSTRACT
This chapter illuminates a distinct modern Buddhist discourse in the context of colonial Korea, a discourse that is often silenced by nation-centred Buddhist narratives. Colonial Seoul in the early 1910s and 1920s was a city of opportunities and challenges for Korean monastics. The promotion of Imje Son-centred Buddhism and Paek Yongsong's tireless efforts to create a centralized Buddhist institution under the Imje lineage can be exemplified by his 1913 interactions with three actors: the visiting Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala, the influential, though non-governmental Japanese Buddhist Abe Mitsuie, and the colonial authorities. Paek faced palpable discrimination against monks and was resolved to open a preaching hall to undertake Buddhist propagation. A blow to Paek's programme was the 1915 emergence of a Japanese Rinzai branch temple as an influential player in the Seoul Buddhist world. In 1911, Korean Buddhism was divided into two factions, with Yi Hoegwang and Kang Taeryon attempting to nullify Paek and Han Yong'un's movement.
