Jeongyeolsa Stele

This stele was erected to commemorate the loyalty and integrity of Kim Cheon-il, who distinguished himself as a righteous-army commander during the Japanese invasions of 1592–1598. Kim Cheon-il (1537–1593) studied under Yi Hang, and having excelled in scholarship, entered government service at the age of twenty-two, going on to hold a succession of official posts. When the Japanese invasions broke out he was in Naju, and together with Go Gyeong-myeong, Bak Gwang-ok, Choe Gyeong-hui and others he raised a righteous army. As the Japanese forces began to retreat southward, he pursued them and fought a fierce battle at Jinjuseong Fortress, but when the fortress fell he took his own life along with his son Sang-geon. The stele has its body set on a tortoise-shaped base and is capped with a square headstone. The headstone is carved with a vividly rendered dragon, and the inscription records in detail Kim Cheon-il's activities as a righteous-army leader. Thirty-four years after his death, in 1626, the fourth year of King Injo, local Confucian scholars here erected this stele at Jeongyeolsa, the shrine dedicated to Kim Cheon-il. The inscription was composed by Jang Yu and written in calligraphy by Yi Suk, while the title carved on the front is in the calligraphy of Kim Sang-yong.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Naju, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물