Kim Jin-muk Songdeok Stele and Stele Pavilion, Boeun

This songdeok stele (a stele praising someone's virtuous deeds) was erected in the Gaeguk year 539 - that is, 1930, under a dating system that counted years from the founding of Joseon in 1392 - to honour the virtue of Kim Jin-muk, pen name Yonggye, of the late Joseon period. The inscription was composed by Buje-hak (Deputy Director of the Hongmungwan, the Office of Special Advisers) Jeong Man-jo and written out by Pandonnyeong (head of the Dollyeongbu, the office for royal relatives) Yun Yong-gu, while the preface to the stele pavilion was written by Yun Myeong-hak. Although the stele was erected relatively recently, its highly unusual use of the Gaeguk era name for dating is a notable feature. The characters are presumed to have been carved at a later date, though this cannot currently be confirmed. The stele is made of black stone measuring 155cm in height and 60cm in width. The stele pavilion, built in 1932, covers an area of 8.68 square metres and consists of one bay across the front and one bay to the side; it is a tiled building with timber columns and a hip-and-gable roof, and retains its original form very well, with a highly refined appearance. Among the buildings constructed around 1932, it stands out for its well-balanced architectural form; sturdy materials were used throughout its members, and the joinery shows very fine craftsmanship. It can be assessed as an example, among modern-era buildings, of one that retains a traditional architectural form. It is notable for its fine scale and style, and it is highly unusual for having sixteen murals painted on the upper interior walls. The murals may have been painted by Yun Yong-gu (1853-1939), who wrote the inscription, as he was skilled in the haeseo and haengseo script styles and was accomplished at painting orchids and bamboo. The wooden plaque on the left side of the pavilion was written by Yun Myeong-hak in the imsin year (1932); rather than using the Japanese era name Showa, it employs an old sexagenary dating system, apparently in order to avoid the use of a Japanese era name, which gives it a particular significance of its own. Kim Jin-muk's courtesy name was Seonghak, his pen name was Yonggye, and his clan seat was Gimhae. He was born in Boeun in 1859, the tenth year of King Cheoljong of Joseon. He was known as a model of filial devotion, and when the people fell into hardship from repeated flood damage and military disturbances in the late Joseon period, he took the lead in relief efforts, distributing grain to the poor; in gratitude for his virtue, the residents erected this songdeok stele. Kim Jin-muk held posts in the Naebu and the Oeseo, oversaw the reconstruction of Mongneung Royal Tomb, the tomb of King Seonjo, and rose to the post of Biseoseung, a secretarial post in the royal secretariat. As a building erected during the Japanese colonial period, it retains its scale, style and original form very well, and as a structure from the transitional period into the modern era, its architectural skill and technique are of considerable value.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Boeun, Chungbuk

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료