Won Buddhism traces its origin to the year 1916, a moment marked by the great enlightenment of its founder, Pak Chungbin, later known as Sotaesan. This year is regarded as the true beginning of the tradition, not merely as a date on the calendar but as the spiritual watershed from which its teachings and community life would eventually flow. The founding is thus inseparable from that inner awakening, which served as the seed for the movement’s later development in Korea.

To speak of its founding in 1916 is to acknowledge that Won Buddhism arises from a concrete historical moment and a particular person, yet it also points beyond that moment to an enduring spiritual impulse. The enlightenment of Pak Chungbin functions as both the chronological and spiritual starting point, the axis around which the subsequent organization and teaching revolve. In this way, the year 1916 is remembered not only as a historical marker but as a symbol of a renewed expression of Buddhist insight within a Korean context.