Jo Yun-son Burial Ground, Jinju

The four graves of the married couples Jo Suk-gi and Jo Yun-son have eroded mounds, so their plan is not entirely clear, but the front forms a U-shape while the rear, higher up the slope, is closer to circular; both are very well-made tombs. The stone facings and crescent stones of the graves are finely crafted works. Dressed stone facings are set against the front of each mound, with a crescent stone placed at the centre; the facings are carved with a grass-and-flower pattern, and the crescent stones with the Blue Dragon and the Vermilion Bird. The altar stone is a single finely dressed sandstone slab, and the retaining wall is built of dressed stones laid in a mixture of recumbent and horizontal coursing. Between the two couples' graves, small stones are piled to prevent soil from washing down, and flat stones are laid in front of the retaining wall to finish the burial ground. The gravestone of Jo Suk-gi was erected in 1510, its epitaph composed and written respectively by Mokgye Gang Hon and Gwanpo Eo Deuk-gang, the foremost figures of the region in their day. The gravestone of Jo Yun-son was erected in 1549, its epitaph composed and written respectively by Gwanpo Eo Deuk-gang and Gosan Hwang Gi-ro, the foremost literary men and calligraphers of the region in their day. Gosan Hwang Gi-ro in particular is known as the foremost master of cursive script in the history of Korean calligraphy, and only three works by him in regular script survive, including the epitaphs of the Stele of the Bestowed Grace of Lord Yi and the Spirit Path Stele of Yi Beon. Both gravestones date from a relatively early period, and both the composers and calligraphers of their epitaphs were the foremost figures of their region and era. Jo Yun-son's gravestone, being one of only three surviving regular-script works by Hwang Gi-ro, gives the burial ground and its stelae great cultural heritage value.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jinju, Gyeongnam

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물