Chungnyeolsa Shrine, Cheongju

Chungnyeolsa Shrine houses the spirit tablet of Song Sang-hyeon (1551–1592), the magistrate of Dongnae who died a martyr's death during the Japanese invasions of Korea. It was first built in 1766 (the 42nd year of King Yeongjo) as a bujomyo [a shrine built to honour an important ancestor in perpetuity, regardless of generational distance], and it has continued to this day. In 2001 a new shrine building was completed, and memorial rites are still held there. Song Sang-hyeon's pen name was Cheongok and his posthumous title was Chungnyeol, meaning 'Loyalty and Integrity'. He passed the civil service examination in 1576 (the ninth year of King Seonjo) and became magistrate of Dongnae in 1591 (the 24th year of King Seonjo). When the Japanese invasions broke out, Song Sang-hyeon, as magistrate of Dongnae, refused the Japanese demand to be allowed passage through Korea and fought on repeatedly until the fortress fell, at which point he died a martyr's death. After his death he was temporarily buried outside Dongnae Eupseong, the walled town of Dongnae, but in 1595 (the 28th year of King Seonjo) his eldest son, Song In-geup, petitioned the court and had the grave moved from Dongnae to its present site. Song Sang-hyeon's martyrdom helped to dispel King Seonjo's suspicions of his officials, and it also dispelled the Ming dynasty's suspicion that Joseon had colluded with Japan to attack Ming China. The court accordingly sent officials on several occasions to hold memorial rites, and in 1766, at the petition of Chief State Councillor Hong Bong-han, the bujomyo was built. Chungnyeolsa is a tiled building with a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof, three bays wide and two bays deep. Inside is a single, undivided wooden-floored room fitted with three bunhapmun, folding lattice doors, and a front veranda. The courtyard is entered through a samun, a three-gated entrance, and is enclosed by a protective wall. Following a major renovation in 1980, plans were drawn up for a new shrine building, and construction began in 1996. In 2001 the surrounding site was expanded and improved, and an exhibition hall and new shrine were built. The new shrine is reached from the samun along samdo, three parallel paths, and the building itself is three bays wide and two bays deep. Inside are portraits of Song Sang-hyeon recently prepared by his descendants. Chungnyeolsa is a site associated with Song Sang-hyeon, who died defending Dongnae Eupseong at the very outbreak of the Japanese invasions, and it preserves the typical form of a bujomyo. Together with the nearby grave and sindobi, a memorial stele, close to Chungnyeolmun, the shrine's entrance gate, it forms a historic site related to a figure of the Japanese invasions and offers valuable insight into the roots of an influential local family.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Cheongju, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물