Seondol in Ipseok-ri, Jecheon

This standing stone (seondol) gave the village its name, Ipseok-ri ('standing stone village'). In ancient times it was made a bugok, a special administrative district created as a product of conquest, and became known as Ipseok-bugok; in the modern period, as such outcast communities were abolished, the name changed to simply Ipseok. In 1914 it was merged with Danggok-ri to form Ipseok-ri and placed under Songhak-myeon, as it remains today. The seondol stands at the edge of the road at the entrance to Ipseok village, and is known locally as Seondolbaegi. Legends concerning its erection are handed down, along with stories connected with the belief in praying for sons, and the village performs rites for the safety and peace of its residents; venerated as a guardian deity and object of folk belief, it carries important scholarly significance for folklore and Korean literary studies. Recognising its meaning and importance, residents voluntarily organised the Seondol Society in 1974 to protect and preserve it, and since 1986 have held the Seondol Rite on a chosen day each year in the tenth lunar month; in terms of function, structure and scholarly significance it is regarded as a representative seondol of the Jungwon (central) region. The seondol is built in three tiers: at the bottom are three low, wide stones 66 cm high; above these, forming the middle section, are three stones each 96 cm high, 140 cm wide and 96–116 cm thick; and at the top rests a single large stone 245 cm high, 258 cm wide and 654 cm in circumference — a highly unusual structure formed by stacking seven stones into one standing-stone shape.

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Where it is

Region

Jecheon, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물