Stone Jangseung Guardian Posts in Masong-ri, Eumseong

Three stone jangseung (village guardian posts) stand about 100 m apart along the stream running past Omi village in Masong-ri, Eumseong. These stone jangseung are said to have been moved to their present site twice: once around 150 years ago, and again during construction of the Chungbuk railway line. Of the three, No. 1 is in the form of a Mireuk (Maitreya Buddha), tall with an elongated face; the face and body are clearly distinguished, it wears a crown like that of Gwaneum bosal (Avalokitesvara), and a round baekho (a white curl between the eyebrows, a mark of wisdom) is shown on its forehead. The eyes are shaped like the character '一' (one). Writing appears once to have been carved on the body, but it is now too worn to read. It is 240 cm tall, about 40 cm wide at the front, with a face about 80 cm long. No. 2 takes the form of a civil official wearing a samo (official's hat); the characters 靜界大將軍 (Jeonggye Daejanggun, "Great General who guards the tranquil realm") are carved on its body. It stands 260 cm tall and 50 cm wide at the front. No. 3 is a seondol-type jangseung (a standing stone marker); the front bears the characters 靜界大將軍 ("Jeonggye Daejanggun") and, to the left, the characters 辛卯正月日 ("a day in the first month of a sinmyo year"). It is 220 cm tall and 50 cm wide. The date of their carving is not known for certain, but judging by their style — a Buddha-head form with a mark where a baekho was once set into the forehead, and the degree to which the carved lines have worn with weathering — they are thought to date from the early Joseon period. Every year at the start of the lunar year, on an auspicious day, Omi village holds a jangseung ritual. For each of the three posts, three ritual leaders (jeju) are chosen, nine in all, selected for their good standing and freedom from recent misfortune. Once chosen, a jeju takes no part in any inauspicious village affairs and keeps themselves ritually pure throughout. Offerings are prepared separately for each jangseung on the day, and groups of three hold the rite at each post at night; if any misfortune befalls the village on the day of the rite, the jeju performs it alone. As objects of the village's communal faith, these stone jangseung have folkloric value as guardian spirits warding off harm from the water and protecting the village.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Eumseong, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Folklore Heritage · 시도민속문화유산