Seo Seong Tomb

This is the tomb of Seo Seong, pen name Yakbong (1558–1631), a civil official and scholar of the mid-Joseon period. In 1613, the fifth year of King Gwanghaegun, he was implicated in the Gyechuk Purge and spent eleven years in exile in Danyang, Wonju and elsewhere. He was reinstated after the Injo Restoration. The burial ground takes the form of a single mound (danbun) in which he is interred together with his wife, Lady Song of the Yeosan Song clan. The gokjang, a curved wall built around a mound to protect the area, was newly built in 1969, but the burial arrangement and stone furnishings are for the most part original. Kerbstones are set in a circle around the base of the mound to protect it, a distinctive style for the tomb of a scholar-official. In front of the mound stand, in order, a grave marker (myopyo), a spirit-comfort stone (honyuseok), an offering table (sangseok) and an incense-burner stone (hyangnoseok). The grave marker was made in 1878, the fifteenth year of Emperor Gojong, and is of the round-topped, square-based (wonsu-bangbu) type. Below the mound stand a pair of stone posts (mangjuseok) and a pair of civil-official stone figures (munseogin), one of each. The stone figures are highly unusual: each holds a hol, a ceremonial tablet, in the hand, but wears a small pointed cap (somoja) on the head and a round-collared robe (dallyeong) — a very rare example among stone figures of the late Joseon period. The stone posts are notable for the fine carving of the cloud motif (ungak) and edge moulding (yeomu) on the head and for the well-balanced proportions of the shaft, which bears ear-shaped (i) handle ornaments marking a transitional style. At the entrance to the burial ground stands a spirit road stele (sindobi), a stele erected by the roadside near a tomb to commemorate the lifetime achievements of a king or high official; it was made in 1646, the twenty-fourth year of King Injo, and is remarkable for its grand scale, in the roof-topped, square-based (okgae-bangbu) form. With its splendid late-Joseon burial arrangement and rare stone furnishings, this tomb is of very high value as cultural heritage.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Pocheon, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물