Gimnyeongnimyosanbonggwangsan Kim Clan Bang Tomb

Myosanbong is said to take its name because the shape of the oreum (volcanic cone) resembles a cat lying down, or because a cat once lived there: it was called Goesalmoe or Gosalmi, combining goe (an old word for cat), sal (to live) and me (mountain), later written in Chinese characters as Myosanbong. Seen from the round-island road, Goesalme has a shape that curves like a cat's arched back. This oreum lies about 1km south of the entrance beside the round-island road in Gimnyeong-ri, and is a horseshoe-shaped volcanic cone with its crater opening to the south. On its south-eastern slope is the tomb of Kim Yun-jo, founding ancestor of the Gwangsan Kim clan on Jeju, who settled on the island in 1368, the 17th year of King Gongmin of Goryeo; the tomb preserves well the original form of the Goryeo-style stone-chambered rectangular tomb known as seokgwang-bangmyo. Below it stands a memorial stone erected by his descendants in honour of his great-grandfather, General Kim Su, who died in battle as a deputy commander of the government forces during the Sambyeolcho Rebellion. The slopes of the oreum are covered mainly with black pine, forming an evergreen forest together with acacia, pine and Japanese cedar, and beneath these grow wild populations of baengnyanggeum, baekseohyang, seomsaeuran and bochunhwa. At Yeonmo, 2km south-east of the oreum, there is a colony of sunchae (water shield), an endangered species in Korea; 17 species of aquatic plants grow there, and a total of 123 individuals across 18 species of wild birds inhabit the area around the oreum. On the southern slope of the oreum is a pojedan, a stone altar for village rites, surrounded by pine trees; even today the residents of Gimnyeong-ri hold a village ritual there to pray for the village's prosperity and safety.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jeju City, Jeju

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물