Kim In-hu Spirit-path Stele, Jangseong

This spirit-path stele records the life and achievements of Kim In-hu (1510–1560), a mid-Joseon civil official and scholar, one of the Eighteen Sages of Korea. Kim In-hu's clan seat was Ulsan; his courtesy name was Huji, and his pen names were Haseo or Damjae. He studied under Kim An-guk (pen name Moje) and Choe San-du (pen name Sinjae), and in 1540 passed the special state examination in the third class. Appointed a probationary assistant editor at the Office of Diplomatic Correspondence, he went on to serve as a proofreader at the Hongmungwan (Office of Special Advisers) and as magistrate of Okgwa County, and was widely admired as a man who combined Neo-Confucian learning, moral integrity and literary skill. His posthumous title was Munjeong (his original posthumous title had been Munjeong in a different character). In 1796 he was enshrined in the Confucian Munmyo shrine and posthumously awarded the rank of Daegwang Bogukkungnok Daebu, Chief State Councillor. He wrote the Juyeok Gwansangpyeon and the Seomyeong Sacheondo ('Diagram of Serving Heaven'), and his collected works survive as the Haseo jeonjip. He is enshrined at Piramseowon Confucian Academy in Jangseong (Historic Site No. 242), among other sites. The Kim In-hu Spirit-path Stele stands at the entrance to his burial ground; it consists of a stele body set on a turtle-shaped base stone and capped with a roof stone. It was erected in 1742, the eighteenth year of King Yeongjo of Joseon; Song Si-yeol composed the inscription, Yi Jae wrote the main text, and Kim Jin-sang wrote the seal-script title. The text runs to 19 lines each on the front and back and 8 lines on each side, 54 lines in total, with 54 characters per line. The Kim In-hu Spirit-path Stele in Jangseong not only records the life and achievements of a scholar ranked among the Eighteen Sages of Korea, who combined learning, moral integrity and literary accomplishment, but also carries great documentary value as a work whose inscription was composed by the renowned Confucian scholar Song Si-yeol and written by Yi Jae, giving it considerable historical, academic and local-historical value.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jangseong, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물