Gimjunsinuisa Jedan Stele, Sangju

This memorial stele was erected in honour of Kim Jun-sin, a righteous man (uisa). It is presumed that the stele itself was first set up around 1850 and that Cheommoje, a memorial hall, was built afterwards; in 1993 Cheommoje was dismantled and rebuilt in its original form. Below a low hill to the left of Nakhwadam Pond, behind Cheommoje, the ground was raised and the stele pavilion was built at a slight angle to the hall's axis. The pavilion is a single-bay building with a gabled roof, presumed to date from the same period as Cheommoje. Kim Jun-sin belonged to the Cheongdo Kim clan and was born here at Pangok, which had been the clan's ancestral settlement since the Goryeo period. When the Imjin War broke out he rose up at the age of thirty-two, raised a righteous army of civilian volunteers and became its commander. To halt the Japanese invasion he advanced as far as Seokjeon in Chilgok, then returned to the main camp at Sangju, where he fought fiercely in defence of Sangju Fortress and killed many Japanese soldiers; overwhelmed by superior numbers, he died a heroic death on 25 April 1592. Enraged by his exploits, the Japanese soldiers went to Pangok intending to wipe out the entire Kim clan. Rather than die at enemy hands, the chaste women of the Kim family threw themselves into Nakhwadam Pond, and their spirits are said still to light the pond to this day. In 1973 Nosan Yi Eun-sang wrote a poem in praise of the righteous deeds associated with Nakhwadam Pond: "In the storm of the year Imjin, the dazzling figure of the righteous man - though the house fell, the nation lived on - the blood-stained history of Jeolsagok, the Valley of the Faithful, shall never be forgotten." And in its second verse: "As is said of the lofty snowy peak - though the blossom falls, the fruit still forms - even today the fragrance of Nakhwadam Pond drifts upon the wind."

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Sangju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물