Yun Bok Spirit-path Stele and Yeongmodang Hall, Gangjin

This spirit-path stele was erected in honour of Haengdang Yun Bok (1512–1577), a civil official of the mid-Joseon period. Born in Haenam, Jeollanam-do, as the fourth son of Yun Hyo-jeong, Yun Bok passed the civil service examination in 1538, the 33rd year of King Jungjong, and went on to hold posts including Hagyu and Jeonjeok of Seonggyungwan (the state Confucian academy), Yejo jeongnang (a section chief at the Ministry of Rites), Jangnyeong of the Saheonbu (Office of the Inspector-General), and Jwabu-seungji of the Seungjeongwon (Royal Secretariat). In provincial posts he served as magistrate of Buan, prefect of Gwangju, and grand protector (daedohobusa) of Andong. He was a man of deep learning and upright character who governed well, and he formed one pillar of the Honam school of Confucian literati. He left behind records of official life in the Jeollado Dosa Siil-lok and the Eundae Il-lok. In particular, while serving as grand protector of Andong he engaged in scholarly exchange with Toegye (Yi Hwang). Haengdang's spirit-path stele was first erected around 1698. His great-great-grandson Yun Ju-mi (1641–1698) travelled as far as Andong to obtain the inscription from Hagye Gwon Yu (1633–1704), a former Minister of Rites; the seal-script heading was written by Gwon Gyu, Grand Censor of the Saheonbu, and the inscription text itself by O Si-bok, a former Minister of Personnel. The present stele, however, was re-erected in 1822, with additions made to the original text. At that time the inscription was written by Yun Jong-gyeom (1793–1853), Haengdang's tenth-generation descendant, and the seal-script heading by Yun Gyu-ro (1769–1837), his ninth-generation descendant. Beyond the spirit-path inscription itself, an account of the reasons for the re-erection and a record of later descendants were added; this addendum was composed by Yun Jong-gyeom, who also wrote out the inscription. The content of the spirit-path stele sets out, in its earlier part, the deeds of Haengdang's ancestors and of Haengdang himself, and of his descendants. It is a stele of the standard type, with the stele body set on a base and capped with an yisu (a capstone carved with intertwined dragons), and the patterns carved on the yisu are distinctive. It is also distinctive in that the original inscription is carved on the front and back faces, while the later addendum is carved on the left and right sides. The Haengdang Yun Bok spirit-path stele has historical value in confirming the historical standing of the individual it commemorates; because the exact date of its erection is known, along with the process by which the original inscription was later supplemented, it also carries academic value. It is, moreover, well preserved, and since it records the branching of the descendant lines it has value for the study of local cultural history as well.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gangjin, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물