page_title: Daesun Jinrihoe
section_title: Schisms
hierarchical_section_title: Daesun Jinrihoe / Schisms
context_page_description: Daesun Jinrihoe, which in its English-language publications has recently used the transliteration Daesoonjinrihoe and, from 2017, Daesoon Jinrihoe, is a Korean new religious movement, founded in April 1969 by Park Han-gyeong, known to his followers as Park Wudang. Daesoon thought is said to be a comprehensive system of truth representing the Great Dao of "resolution of grievances and reciprocation of gratitude into mutual beneficence".
context_section_description: Park had not named a successor and died in 1996 (1995 according to the lunar calendar). Many of his followers had believed that they would achieve the state of dotong, or perfect unification with the Tao, during Park's lifetime. They strongly opposed the idea of appointing a successor of Park, and controversies followed. However, the main reason for the disputes, which had also motivations preceding Park Wudang’s death, so that some divisions had already manifested during his last years, was a controversy about the divinization of Park Wudang (i.e. whether he should now be worshipped as a god or identified with Buddha Maitreya), together with Kang Jeungsan and Jo Jeongsan, who had been in turn divinized. Those favorable to the divinization were led by Yi Yu-jong (1936-2010), the chairperson of the Yeoju Headquarters Temple Complex, who was also accused of administrative wrongdoings by his opponents. On 16 July 1999, a number of leaders of the faction opposed to Yi (estimates vary from 150 to 1,500 or 2,000) gathered at the headquarters in Yeoju and asked Yi to resign. A face-off erupted and the police was called, which finally escorted Yi out of the temple. The police had to intervene again in January 2000, when Yi's faction unsuccessfully tried to retake the Yeoju Headquarters. Yi's followers managed however to take control of Daesoon Jinrihoe's Junggok Temple in Seoul, where Yi proclaimed himself the successor of Park, while the majority group insisted that Park had appointed no successor and organized a collegial direction of the movement.
  Eventually, Yi's group experienced in turn further schisms, and Daesoon Jinrihoe split into at least five factions: one, including a large majority of Park’s followers, was opposed to his deification and remained headquartered in Yeoju, while the four main groups that were in favor of considering Park either a god or the Buddha Maitreya were headquartered respectively at the Junggok Temple in Seoul, in Pocheon, Pohang, and Goesan. The latter branch is now known as Daejin Sungjuhoe. In 2013, a council was held in Yeoju to "normalize" the management of the order, attended by the Yeoju Headquarters, Seoul's Junggok Temple, and Pocheon branches. They did not come to an agreement about their doctrinal problems, but agreed to a joint management of Daejin University and of Jesaeng Hospital, one of the main components of Daesoon Jinrihoe’s health system.
  These internal problems did not seem to stop the expansion of the movement. In 1997, a giant Maitreya Buddha statue was enshrined in the Geumgangsan Toseong Training Temple, which had been completed in 1996 in the Geumgang Mountain area, where Park Wudang was also buried. The educational and health systems also expanded.
caption: Statue of Buddha Maitreya, Geumgangsan Temple.
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