Min Jin-jang Burial Ground

The Min Jin-jang Burial Ground is the tomb site of Min Jin-jang (1649–1700), a civil official of the reign of King Sukjong of Joseon. Because of his outstanding filial conduct, a jeongmun, a red gate erected in front of a house to honour a loyal subject, filial child or virtuous woman, was raised for him. The burial ground takes the form of a single mound in which he is buried together with his wife, Lady Nam of the Uiryeong Nam clan. The mound is square in plan, and a border of stones was built around it to protect it, a form rarely seen in the late Joseon period. To the left of the front of the mound stands a myopyo, a stele inscribed with the name of the deceased, erected in 1734, the tenth year of King Yeongjo. It has a roof-shaped capstone on a square base and shows an excellent sense of balance. The stone civil-official statue is shown wearing an official's cap and court robes; it is large in scale and richly decorated, and is representative of stone figures of the early eighteenth century. The ornamental stone pillars flanking the tomb have a mythical creature carved on their shafts, holding an auspicious vapour in its mouth, with horns on its head and a full tail, giving it a mysterious appearance. At the entrance to the burial ground stands a stele recording the deeds of the deceased, erected in 1743, the nineteenth year of King Yeongjo. It is a modified version of the roof-and-square-base stele type, with a large crouching dragon carved on top of the roof stone. On the front of the base stone a dynamic black tortoise-snake design is carved, and lion designs are carved on the two sides, both rendered in a pictorial style; this treatment is rare and of high artistic value. This burial ground is important because it retains the original form and period character of Joseon tomb design. In particular, the stone figures show decoration taken to its fullest extent, and the carving technique is distinctive and highly artistic, giving the site very high value as cultural heritage.

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Where it is

Region

Yeoju, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물