만해 한용운은 1933년(55세)에 약 10년간 머물던 선학원을 떠나, 서울 성북동으로 옮기고 스스로 당호를 심우장이라 지었다. 늘 총독부의 감시를 받고 있었으므로 보다 자유롭게 일을 하고자 하였기 때문이다. 당시 식산은행이 만해에게 성북동 일대의 좋은 국유지를 주겠다며 매수하고자 했으나 만해는 그 제안을 거절하고 일제에 저항하는 의미로 동북방향의 집을 지었다. 만해는 심우장에서 『유마경』을 번역했고, <불교>지를 속간하여 불교계의 청년들에게 독립운동과 불교혁신을 장려하였다. 또한 만주에서 독립투쟁을 하던 일송 김동삼을 위해 심우장에서 5일장을 지내기도 했다. 또 단재 신채호 선생의 묘비를 세우고자 하는 등, 조선총독부의 심한 감시와 탄압으로 묶여있으면서도 그의 정신은 ‘님’을 향해 있었고, 나라의 독립을 꿈꾸고 있었다.
본 논문은 만해가 출옥 후 약 10년간 선학원에서 항일운동과 민족불교 회복운동을 하다가, 성북동으로 거처를 옮긴 만년 10년 동안의 삶과 활동을 검토하고자 한다. 일제의 엄혹한 감시로 운신의 폭이 좁았기에 만해의 행적과 관련된 기록을 찾기란 쉽지 않다. 때문에 심우장 관련 연구는 그동안 소극적이었고, 2019년에 심우장이 국가사적 제550호로 지정되면서 학계의 관심을 받게 되었다. 선학원은 1944년 만해 입적 직후부터 유족들과 추모재를 꾸준하게 거행하고 있으며, 2021 년에는 선학원 설립 100주년을 기념하여 100년사 편찬을 통해 만해정신을 기리기도 하였다. 필자는 만해의 심우장 시절의 각종 활동과 동시대 인물들의 증언, 그리고 각종 기록을 정리하였다. 특히 어린 시절 부친인 만해와 심우장에서 동고동락 했던 여식 한영숙의 회고록을 통해 만해의 마지막 생을 입체적으로 검토하고자 한다.
In 1962, the government of the Republic of Korea conferred the Order of Merit for National Founding to Manhae Han Yong - un for his patriotic deeds. As one of the 33 national representatives, he signed the 3.1 Declaration of Independence in 1919. For about 10 years from 1922, he resided in Seonhakwon, devoting himself to anti - Japanese movements such as 6.10 national independence movement, public university building movement, Shinganhoe (新幹會), Gwangju Student Movement and recovery movements of national sovereignty as well. In particular, the representative independence movements of Korean Buddhism were carried out centering around Mandang (卍黨) which he had formed.
In 1933, at the age of 55, Manhae moved to Seongbuk - dong, Seoul and renamed himself Simwoojang, which was the name of his residence. Because he was always under the surveillance of the government general, he wanted to work more freely. At that time, Siksan Bank was abetted by the Japanese and tried to bribe him with the good state land in the Seongbuk - dong area. However, Manhae rejected the proposal and built a house facing northeast to resist Japanese imperialism. Manhae translated ‘Yuma - gyeong’ at Simwoojang and published ‘New 1st Collection’, resuming the journal, ‘Buddhism’ which was suspended in 1933 due to financial difficulties. He wrote “Revive the Buddhist Youth Movement” for the journal ‘Buddhism’, encouraging the independence movement and Buddhist Reform among Korean young Buddhists. Besides, after hearing about the death of Ilsong, Kim Dong - sam, who was arrested and imprisoned at Mapo Prison while conducting the independence struggle in Manchuria, he arranged the five day funeral in Shimwoojang. He also wanted to build a tombstone for Danjae, Shin Chae - ho. Because of his leading the independence movements, Manhae Han Yong - un was under the severe surveillance and oppression of the Japanese government - general and there were few visitors, but his spirit was always toward the Buddha and he was dreaming of the independence of the country.
This paper intends to review the life and activities of Manhae for 10 years after he moved to Seongbuk - dong. While residing at Seonhakwon for about 10 years, he led or participated in the ant - iJapanese movement and national Buddhism recovery movement after he was released from prison owing to his involvement in independence movement. It is not easy to find the records related to his deeds because the scope of his movements was narrow due to the surveillance of the Japanese. Therefore, research on Simwoojang, where Manhae spent his last years of life, has been passively conveying only fragments of it, but in 2019, Shimwoojang was designated as National Historic Site No.550. In particular, Seonhakwon has been consistently holding memorial rites with the bereaved family immediately since his demise in 1944. Since 2016, not only memorial rites but also academic festivals, art festivals, and youth literature festivals have been held to inherit Manhae's path to independence movement and national Buddhism. In 2021, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Seonhakwon, its 100 - year history was compiled, which was also served to commemorate the spirit of Manhae. In this paper, I tried to compile the fragments of Manhae's later years’ activities based on Shimwoojang, the testimonies of contemporaries, and various records. In particular, I intend to review Manhae's later life specifically through the memoirs of his daughter, Han Young - sook who lived together in Simwoojang as a child.