Yi Won-ik Shrine and Spirit-path Stele

This is the tomb and spirit-path stele of Yi Won-ik (pen name Ori, 1547–1634), a civil official of the mid-Joseon period. Yi Won-ik passed the special state examination in 1569, the second year of King Seonjo, and held a succession of offices; during the Japanese invasions he succeeded in the operation to retake Pyeongyang, and rose through the post of Right State Councillor to become Chief State Councillor. In 1608, at the accession of King Gwanghaegun, he proposed the Daedongbeop, reforming an unreasonable tax system and easing the burden on the people. Although he served as Chief State Councillor six times, he lived frugally in a humble thatched hut and was named one of the Cheongbaengni, officials noted for integrity and incorruptibility. His tomb is a joint burial with his wife, with two mounds side by side. In front of the mounds stand a gravestone, an offering table and an incense-burner stone, and on either side stands a pair of mangju stone pillars, which mark the presence of a grave from afar, and a pair of civil-official stone statues. The spirit-path stele of Yi Won-ik — a stele erected beside a road near a tomb to commemorate the lifetime achievements of a king or high official — stands beside the road below the tomb precinct. The upper part of the stele vividly depicts two dragons fighting over a yeouiju, a wish-fulfilling jewel. The inscription was composed by Yi Jun, Second Royal Secretary of the Royal Secretariat, and the calligraphy was done by Heo Mok (1595–1682), husband of his granddaughter; today the inscription is so worn that the characters are difficult to read.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물