Wolcheon-ri Stone Jangseung Guardian Posts

A pair of stone jangseung standing inside a private house in Wolcheon-ri village. Jangseung are folk guardian figures set up at the entrances to villages or temples to bar the passage of evil spirits and misfortune and to mark temple property and boundaries; they often also serve as guardian deities of a village. This pair is said to represent Hwanung and Dangun respectively. The Dangun figure stands 182 cm tall, with a head 55 cm long and a base circumference of 158 cm, while the Hwanung figure stands 172 cm tall, with a head 56 cm long and a base circumference of 140 cm. On the Dangun figure, the characters 王儉 ("Wanggeom") are carved on the chest at the front and 長白山 ("Jangbaeksan") on the back; on the Hwanung figure, 桓䧺 ("Hwanung") is carved on the chest at the front and 九龍淵 ("Guryongyeon") on the back. They originally stood beside a stream at a place called Geobungme, 3 km northwest of Wolcheon-ri, and are said to have been moved to their present site, the home of Jeong Tae-in, after his father-in-law had a dream. The date of their making is unknown, but as an unusual example of jangseung enshrined to honour the guardian figures Dangun and Hwanung, they have attracted the interest of folklorists.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Buan, Jeonbuk

Designation

Provincial Folklore Heritage · 시도민속문화유산