Bakguhyoja Memorial Gate Stele

A jeongnyeo is a memorial gate (jeongmun) erected in front of a person's house to commend exemplary figures such as loyal subjects, filial children and virtuous women; this stele commemorates the filial conduct of Bak Gu, a man of the Joseon period. Bak Gu (d. 1425) was extremely devoted to his mother; when she died, he guarded her grave for three years without once returning home. The memorial stele is 110 cm high, 43 cm wide and 16 cm thick, with an inscription carved on its front face. The pavilion (bigak) built to protect the stele measures one bay across the front and one bay to the side, and carries a matbae roof whose roofline, seen from the side, resembles the shape of the Chinese character 人 (person). A wooden plaque hangs at the top of the pavilion's front, and below it hangs a sangnyangmun, a ridge-beam inscription recording the history of the stele; at the upper left hangs another plaque inscribed with a chijemun, a royal message of commendation bestowed by King Myeongjong. Both the memorial stele and its pavilion were erected in 1535, the thirtieth year of King Jungjong, at a time when the investigation for granting jeongnyeo honours was strict, so that its bestowal may serve as a fitting example for later generations; considering the customs of the time, it also carries great historical and local value. It originally stood by the Baekcheon stream, near his mother's grave, but was moved elsewhere after a flood, before being relocated to its present site in 1818, the eighteenth year of King Sunjo.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Seongju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Provincial Folklore Heritage · 시도민속문화유산