Certificate of Meritorious Subject Issued to Kim Cheon-ri

A gongsin nokgwon, or certificate of merit, is a document issued by the Directorate of Meritorious Subjects (Gongsin dogam), on the king's order, to a subject who had rendered great service. This "Certificate of Meritorious Subject of the Founding of the Dynasty" was issued by the Directorate of Meritorious Subjects in the fourth year of King Taejo (1395) to Kim Cheon-ri, who had contributed to Yi Seong-gye's founding of Joseon. The document records a total of 695 recipients. It is a handwritten manuscript, and its content is identical to that of the National Treasure–designated certificate of the same type issued to Yi Won-gil (designated in 1989), matching it in the number of names listed and in the content of the grant. The National Treasure certificate issued to Yi Won-gil, however, was printed using a combination of woodblocks and movable type. This document bears 45 impressions of a seal reading "Ijo ji in" (Seal of the Ministry of Personnel), each side of the seal measuring 6.5 cm. At the end of the document are listed the names of eighteen officials of the Directorate of Meritorious Subjects involved in issuing the certificate at the time — including noksa, pangwan, pansa and ijo byeolgam — with the signatures of thirteen of them appearing beneath their names.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물