Gimhae Gaeksahuwonji Site

The rear-garden site of Gimhae Gaeksa (the Gimhae government guest house) lies within the grounds of Pogyodang, inside the old Gimhae Eupseong (town wall) in Dongsang-dong, Gimhae. Remaining within the grounds of Pogyodang are the Garak Godo Gungheobi (a stele marking the old royal palace site of the Garak kingdom), stones presumed to be the foundation stones of Bunseongdae Terrace and Yeonjaru Pavilion, two stone pieces presumed to be the name-pillars of Hamheogyo Bridge, six stone slabs presumed to be its paving stones, and two stone Buddha statues. This site, where Bunseongdae and Hamheojeong Pavilion are said to have once stood, is also said to have been the site of a royal palace of the later Garak kingdom, or the site of the central residence of the queen of King Suro. It is remembered as a place of long historical significance: later the site of Hogyesa Temple, which housed Pasa Stone Pagoda, Korea's first stone pagoda, and, in the Joseon period, the site where Yeonjaru Pavilion and Hamheojeong Pavilion were built. In 1928, Kim Mun-bae, a descendant of the Gimhae Kim clan, is said to have built up a terrace here, named it Bunseongdae, and erected a stele giving it the name Garak Godo Gungheobi. Hamheojeong Pavilion was first built in 1497 by Choe Yun-sin, magistrate (busa) of Gimhae, and was repaired several times afterwards. It stood as a pavilion in the middle of a lotus pond, but is said to have been moved north, outside the town wall, before the 1800s. It is recorded that the pavilion stood north of Yeonjaru and south of Pasa Pagoda: a square pond was dug there, water from Hogye Stream was drawn in and channelled out again, an island was raised in the middle, and a tall building was erected on it with a thatched roof to form the pavilion, with a bridge laid across the water. Fish were kept in the pond, lotus was planted, and small boats carrying gisaeng (female entertainers) and musicians were floated for boating parties. These records, together with the arrangement of Yeonjaru and Hamheojeong, can be confirmed on the Gimhae-bu Map, produced around 1820. A trial excavation of the area confirmed a stone revetment running parallel to the present stone wall, and buncheong ware (a grey-green stoneware coated with white slip) and inscribed roof tiles were excavated from within the wall, confirming that a building shown on old maps, dating to the 15th–16th century, once stood here and that this is its surviving site. This matches the documentary record, and taken together with other evidence, the site that survives today is assessed as the rear-garden site of the Joseon-period Gimhae Gaeksa, and as important material for understanding the garden style of old government offices.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gimhae, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물