Kim Gwan Grave, Goesan

One burial mound, one memorial stone, a stone ritual house (a "jaejip"), balustrade stones and two stone civil-official figures appear to have been erected together with Kim Gwan's funeral after his death in 1417. The memorial stele was set up in 1750, the twenty-sixth year of King Yeongjo, while a spirit stone, an offering table, an incense-burner stone, two stone lions and a stone lantern were added later, in 1985. The gravesite rises in three tiers. On the topmost tier is a rectangular mound bordered by ritual burial stones, and directly in front of it stands a single-pillar stone structure carved to resemble a tiled-roof house, known as a jaejip. Inside this structure is a small memorial stone, now badly worn. On either side of the jaejip a single bay of balustrade stone has been set up. In front of the jaejip stand the spirit stone, offering table, incense-burner stone and stone lions added in 1985, and to the right of the mound stands the memorial stele of 1750. One tier down, a pair of stone civil-official figures stand to either side, and on the tier below that a stone lantern stands facing the mound. The ritual burial stones bordering the rectangular mound measure 390 cm front to back, 460 cm across, and 30 cm high. The memorial stele's body is 144 cm high, 62 cm wide and 34 cm thick. The grave is unusual in form: a single-pillar stone structure shaped like a tiled-roof house stands before the mound with a small memorial stone set inside it, and balustrade stones have been installed in a single bay only on either side of this structure, facing the mound. Kim Gwan (d. 1417) was the son of Kim Jung-bang, who at the end of Goryeo had served as head of the Bongsangsi, the office in charge of state rites. Kim Gwan himself held the Board of Taxation post of third councillor and was posthumously raised to Jwachanseong, a senior minister of the State Council. His eldest daughter became the wife of Prince Gyeongnyeong, Yi Bae, the eldest son born to King Taejong of Joseon by his concubine Lady Hyobin of the Kim clan. The stone structure before the mound is unusual in form, shaped like a tiled-roof house with a small memorial stone set up inside it, and balustrade stones installed in a single bay only on either side of it, facing the mound. Such a stone arrangement is extremely rare, and the grave is considered valuable material for the study of burial customs of the Joseon period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Goesan, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물