Yuui (set) excavated from Jo Gyeong Tomb

Jo Gyeong (1541–1609) was a military official of the mid-Joseon period who, together with Gwon Yul, won a great victory over Japanese forces at Haengju Mountain Fortress during the Imjin War, providing the impetus for the recapture of Hanyang, present-day Seoul. After the war he served as Deputy Magistrate and then Magistrate of Hanseongbu, the capital administration, and in 1604, the thirty-seventh year of King Seonjo, he was recognised for his wartime merit, inducted as a third-class Meritorious Subject of Military Pacification (Seonmu Gongsin), and ennobled as Pungyanggun. As the tomb occupant's lifetime spanned the years before and after the Imjin War, the burial garments (yuui) excavated from Jo Gyeong's tomb generally show well the transitional forms between early and late Joseon dress. This is especially evident in the pleat form of the aekjureumpo, a robe gathered at the armpit, and in the presence of a jeonsam, an inner garment with a pleated skirt, and in the fact that a haechi rank badge — recorded in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty and the Gyeongguk Daejeon (National Code) as worn by the Daesaheon, or Inspector-General — was found in the tomb of Jo Gyeong, who had served as Magistrate of Hanseongbu rather than as Inspector-General; this differs slightly from the features seen in burial garments excavated from other tombs of the same and earlier periods. It is also highly unusual that, in the mu, or side gussets, of the dallyeong (round-collared official robe) and the dapho (a sleeveless overcoat), the upper part of the inner, rear-turned panel is shorter than the outer panel, with the shortened portion instead attached beneath the armpit of the sleeve. The pokgeon, a cloth head covering designed to cover the head and extend over the upper body to the shoulders, is unusually large compared with similar items excavated from other tombs. In particular, the haechi rank badge is the first of its kind to be found among excavated burial garments to date; finished with extremely fine embroidery in gold thread on thin fabric and in excellent condition, it is of very high value as a piece of cultural heritage. Compared with early Joseon artefacts found to date, predating the Imjin War, these garments are generally finer in texture, more meticulously sewn, and distinctive in their cutting method.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Folklore Heritage · 시도민속문화유산