Wannambuwon Temple Group Yi Hu-won Burial Ground

Yi Hu-won (1598–1660) was a seventh-generation descendant of Prince Gwangpyeong Yi Yeo, the fifth son born to King Sejong and Queen Soheon. He distinguished himself during the Restoration of King Injo and was ranked third among the Jeongsa Merit Subjects; during the Jeongmyo War he played a major role as an aide to the Chief Commander of the Special Training Division, and during the Byeongja War he belonged to the anti-appeasement faction, arguing for resistance to the death against Qing. When King Hyojong pursued his plan to conquer the north, Yi took a leading part in the project, preparing some 200 warships among other measures. Though himself an accomplished scholar, after becoming Third State Councillor in 1657, the eighth year of King Hyojong, he also achieved great things in recruiting talented men, discovering Song Si-yeol (1607–1689) and Song Jun-gil (1606–1672) — who would go on to become leading Neo-Confucian scholars of the late Joseon period, Song Si-yeol later heading the Noron faction — and securing their appointment to prominent posts in the central government. Yi Hu-won's burial ground was first established in 1660 at Samseoksan Mountain in Geumcheon, his original burial site, then moved to Segok in Gwangju before being finally relocated to its present location in 1704. Compared with other scholar-official burial grounds, it is distinctive for the guard stones encircling the burial mound and the placement of haechi statues, a mythical lion-like guardian beast. The memorial stone erected at the south-eastern foot of the burial ground was composed by two leading Neo-Confucian scholars of the late Joseon period, Song Jun-gil, who wrote the main inscription, and Song Si-yeol, who added a postscript; the calligraphy of the inscription was executed by Yi Jeong-yeong (1616–1686), a renowned calligrapher of the day, while the heading in seal script — reading 'Ujae Sangguk Ichungjeonggong Myopyo', the memorial stone of State Councillor Yi, Lord Chungjeong, styled Ujae — was written by Kim Su-hang (1629–1689), the State Councillor of the time famed for his seal-script calligraphy. The stone thus preserves the handwriting of eminent scholars and calligraphers of the period, giving it historical value as a record that supplements official histories such as the Veritable Records.

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Where it is

Region

Gangnam-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물