Monument on Bukhansan Mountain Commemorating the Border Inspection by King Jinheung of Silla, Seoul

One of the stelae King Jinheung of Silla (r. 540–576) raised to mark an inspection of newly taken territory — this one to commemorate his visit to the Han river basin after it was absorbed into his kingdom. It originally stood on Bibong peak on Bukhansan; it was moved to Gyeongbokgung for its protection and is now held at the National Museum of Korea. The stone is a dressed rectangular slab, set on a two-step platform cut into the natural rock. The top is partly lost; what remains is 1.54 m high and 69 cm wide, carrying twelve lines of thirty-two characters each in regular script. The text records why the king travelled through the provinces and why the stone was raised, and is largely in praise of his expansion of Silla's territory. The date is uncertain, because the reign name carved on it has worn away. It is thought to stand between 561, when the Changnyeong stele was raised, and 568, when the Hwangchoryeong stele was — or later. The scholar Kim Jeong-hui found the stone and read it in 1816, and it has been known ever since.

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Where it is

Region

Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Designation

National Treasure · 국보