Jogongje, Sangju

Jogongje is an embankment 370 m long, 2.5 m high and 5 m wide, built by Magistrate Jo Byeong-no, who held office from September 1871 to October 1873, for flood control and to promote farming; it is planted with chestnut trees. The embankment had existed from early times and was known as Yulsu ('chestnut water'). During the Japanese invasions of 1592, General Jeong Gi-ryong hid his troops here when retaking Sangju fortress, and used the spot to annihilate the fleeing Japanese army. Today a road 20 m wide, running into the town centre, cuts through the embankment and has caused some damage, but it remains a historic site that must not be damaged any further. At the southern end of the embankment stands the Jogongje stele. Its inscription reads: '... To the east, the watercourse was too weak to be contained, so earth was piled up and trees were grown there ... Workers were ordered to haul stones and build it up, until the embankment came to resemble a fortress wall ...', recording the history of the embankment's construction. The Sangsanji (Gazetteer of Sangju), in its section on forests, also records: 'Yulsu lies 5 ri east of the district. According to an old story, the mountain west of the town site is shaped like a centipede, so chestnut trees were planted facing it to suppress its power.' This suggests that, in terms of pungsu (Korean geomancy), because the mountain to the west resembled a centipede, chestnut trees — which centipedes are said to dislike — were planted at the site of Jogongje to counter it.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Sangju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물