Jukjuk Stele, Hapcheon

This stele was erected to honour the loyalty and integrity of Jukjuk, who died in battle at Daeyaseong Fortress in 642, the eleventh year of Queen Seondeok of Silla. In 642, Silla's Daeyaseong Fortress was surrounded by a Baekje army led by Yun Chung. At this time, Geomil, whose wife had been taken from him by the fortress commandant Kim Pum-seok, set fire to the storehouses, throwing the fortress into chaos. Having lost the will to fight, Kim Pum-seok ignored the objections of his subordinate Jukjuk and surrendered. However, when the Baekje army killed all those who came out to surrender, Kim Pum-seok killed his wife and children and then took his own life. Jukjuk led the remaining soldiers in battle, but they were no match for the Baekje army. He declared, "My father named me Jukjuk (Bamboo) so that I would not wither even in the cold, and would rather break than bend. How could I fear death and surrender?" and died fighting. When Queen Seondeok heard of Jukjuk's loyalty and valour, she bestowed upon him the rank of geupchan (a Silla official rank) and had his wife and children moved to live in the royal capital. This stele, made of granite 1.4 metres tall and 54 centimetres wide, was erected in 1645, the twenty-third year of King Injo, by the magistrate of Hapcheon, Jo Hui-in, to honour Jukjuk's loyalty and pass on his example to later generations. The inscription was composed by Gang Dae-su (pen name Hansa, 1591–1658).

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Hapcheon, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산