Gyegap Daily Record and Related Documents

The Gyegap Daily Record is a diary kept by Chuyeon Woo Seong-jeon (1542-1593), a civil official and righteous-army (uibyeong) leader of the mid-Joseon period. The accompanying documents comprise two royal decrees (gyoji) posthumously conferring office on Woo, a further decree granting him a posthumous title, and a document of assent (siho seogyeong wanui) issued by the Office of the Censor-General (Saganwon) approving the granting of that title. Woo Seong-jeon's ancestral seat was Danyang; his courtesy name was Gyeongseon, and his pen names were Chuyeon and Yeonam. He held posts including Kyeomyeol of the Yemungwan and Suchan, before becoming magistrate of Suwon. When the Japanese invasion of 1592 (the Imjin War) broke out, he raised a righteous army, relieved refugees, and joined forces with Kim Cheon-il (1537-1593) on Ganghwado Island, winning distinction in battle. When Gwon Yul (1537-1599) advanced from Dokseongsanseong Fortress in Suwon to Haengjusanseong Fortress in Goyang, Woo was appointed Daesaseong in recognition of his support with righteous-army troops, and after his death he was posthumously appointed Minister of Personnel. His posthumous title was Mun-gang. The Gyegap Daily Record sets down, in diary form, what Woo Seong-jeon experienced in office over some fifteen months, from the first day of the sixth month of 1583, the sixteenth year of King Seonjo, to the thirtieth day of the eighth month of 1584. Its title combines one character each from Gyemi, the cyclical name for 1583, and Gapsin, that for 1584. This period, when political rivalry between the Easterners and Westerners factions was intensifying, and the first signs of the further split into Southerners and Northerners were appearing, is recorded here in more detail than in any other comparable source. The original title was Chuyeon ilgi, later changed on rebinding to Chuyeon seonsaeng ilgi. Appended at the end of the diary are a colophon written in 1600 by Seoae Ryu Seong-ryong (1542-1607), an entry from the Munso mallok by Dalcheon Yun Guk-hyeong (1543-1611), and a postface by Seongho Yi Ik (1681-1763). Of the three royal decrees, one, dated the fourth month of 1788, the twelfth year of King Jeongjo, posthumously appoints Woo Seong-jeon Second Minister of Personnel; another, dated the first month of 1791, posthumously appoints him Minister of Personnel; and the third, dated the twelfth month of 1793, grants him the posthumous title Mun-gang. There also survives a document of assent, dated the twelfth month of 1793, in which the Office of the Censor-General examined Woo's qualifications and agreed that he should be granted a posthumous title.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Hwaseong, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산