Royal Certificate of Meritorious Subject Issued to Sim Dae

A nokgwon is a certificate recognising someone as a meritorious subject. This nokgwon is a royal certificate of merit issued in 1604, the 37th year of King Seonjo, to Sim Dae (1546–1592), Lord Cheongwon, who had accompanied the king in the royal escort (hojong, meaning to follow and attend the king's carriage) when King Seonjo fled to Uiju during the Japanese invasions of Korea. Sim Dae passed the civil service examination in 1572, the fifth year of King Seonjo. When the Japanese invasions broke out, he escorted the king to Uiju, and later, as governor of Gyeonggi Province, he fought alongside the citizens to recapture Seoul, dying after being attacked by Japanese soldiers. The certificate records his merit in escorting the king to Uiju during the war, and states that he was posthumously granted the rank of Second-Class Meritorious Subject after dying in battle while trying, as governor of Gyeonggi Province, to recover Seoul. As a reward it decreed that his portrait be painted to preserve his memory for later generations; that his official rank be raised by two grades, and those of his parents, wife and children each by two grades; that, should he have no children, his nephews or nieces be raised by one grade; that his eldest son and his descendants inherit his official rank in perpetuity; and that he receive nine slaves, eighty gyeol of farmland (a traditional unit of land area), seven nyang of silver (a traditional unit of weight), and one bolt of silk. This certificate of Hoseong Meritorious Subject is relatively well preserved and is a valuable resource for research into meritorious subjects of the Joseon period and into the Japanese invasions of Korea.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yongin, Gyeonggi

Designation

Treasure · 보물