Won Gyun Jang Gun Tomb

This is the tomb of General Won Gyun (元均, 1540–1597), a military official of the mid-Joseon period. When Yi Sun-sin was imprisoned during the Japanese invasions of 1592–1598, Won Gyun took his place as Samdo Sugun Tongjesa, the commander of the naval forces of the three provinces, and while attacking enemy forces at Busan he was heavily defeated and killed in action at the Battle of Chilcheollyang. In 1604, the thirty-seventh year of King Seonjo, he was posthumously honoured, together with Gwon Yul and Yi Sun-sin, as a first-class Meritorious Subject of Loyal Service (Seonmu gongsin). The tomb is a single round mound (danbun) in which he was buried together with his wife of the Papyeong Yun clan. In 1981 descendants renovated the tomb precinct, considerably altering its original form; all the stone furnishings except the grave marker (myopyo, a stone inscribed with the name of the deceased) and the pair of civil-official statues were newly made at that time. The grave marker stands to the right in front of the mound. It is of the isu-bangbu type, a form in which the capstone is carved with a dragon motif and set on a square base; although the date of erection is not inscribed, the style suggests it was made in the 17th century. The dragon carved on the capstone shows two dragons amid clouds, facing each other toward a magic jewel. Below stand a pair of old civil-official statues (munseogin) in the yanggwan-jobok form, wearing the yanggwan cap and official court robes of a civil minister. Their faces have a gentle expression, but the simplification of detail in their ornamentation reflects the style of the early 17th century. This tomb retains the artistic quality of 17th-century tomb sculpture and is therefore of high scholarly value.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물