Tomb of Patriotic Martyrs, Hongseong

This is the tomb enshrining the remains of the several hundred righteous army (uibyeong) soldiers who died in the Battle of Hongjuseong, one of the righteous army campaigns that took place in the Hongseong-gun area at the end of the Joseon period. When the Eulsa Treaty was concluded with Japan in 1905, righteous army activity broke out throughout the country, and in the Hongseong region of South Chungcheong Province vigorous activity developed centred on Min Jong-sik, a vice-minister of the Board of Personnel. In 1906, acting on the order of Emperor Gojong, he gathered righteous army troops, attacked Japanese forces at Nampo and Boryeong and seized their weapons, and on 20 March captured Hongjuseong, the walled town of Hongju. However, once the Japanese army's artillery bombardment intensified, several hundred righteous army soldiers were killed in action, and their bodies were left scattered along the Hongju stream and around Namsan Mountain; in 1949 the remains were identified as those of the anti-Japanese righteous army and were enshrined here. Drawing together core research sources on the Hongju righteous army such as the Hongyang Ilgi, the Hongyang Gisa and the Joseon Choegeunsa (A Recent History of Joseon), records confirm that at least 98, and by some accounts several hundred, righteous army soldiers were killed in the Battle of Hongjuseong. The mound is encircled at its base with a ring of stones, and to the right of the tomb stands a memorial stone composed by Jeong In-bo and inscribed by Sim Sang-jik, with a pair of stone pillars erected on either side. The spirit tablets of nine hundred patriotic martyrs are enshrined in the Changuisa Shrine, so the site was originally called Gubaek Uichong ("Tomb of Nine Hundred Patriotic Martyrs"); the name was changed to Hongju Uisachong (Tomb of Patriotic Martyrs of Hongju) in 1992. A memorial rite for the martyrs is held every year on 30 May, and the site is an important relic honouring the patriotic, country-protecting spirit of the Hongju righteous army of the late Joseon period, a spirit carried on unbroken from the righteous army of the Eulmi year (1895).

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Hongseong, Chungnam

Designation

Historic Site · 사적