Hwasun Dongbongnamdeogwon Stele

Namdeogwon was a yeogwon — a combined post station and travellers' inn — located at the foot of Geumgyesan Mountain. It was used in the Joseon period as a transport facility and public institution, but was abolished after the nearby Geombu Station was established. The stele is connected with this inn; it was made by roughly dressing a natural stone and setting it upright, with the top edge trimmed obliquely inward so that the whole gives a pointed impression. An inscription running to eight lines is carved on the front. The text includes the name of Sim Ji-heon, who served as magistrate of Dongbok County; it has been confirmed that he took up his post here in the ninth month of 1666, the seventh year of King Hyeonjong, and was transferred elsewhere in 1668. As the stele was erected in the third month of 1668, the ninth year of King Hyeonjong, it appears to have been put up before he left. The inscription was carved by Kim Jin-do, of the Gwangsan Kim clan. As the only stele associated with a yeogwon, it is of considerable importance, since it is thought to be closely connected with the history of Dongbok County. The inscription, written in semi-cursive script, is also notable as a rare seventeenth-century example of semi-cursive carved on natural stone, a combination that was very uncommon at the time. Its date of erection is certain, and the stele is a valuable source for research into Joseon-period institutional history, social history, and local history.

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Where it is

Region

Hwasun, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산