Imgyeongeopjanggun Stele Pavilion

This is a single stele pavilion and the stele standing within it, beside the road leading to the entrance of the Guest House inside Naganeupseong Walled Town; it commemorates the benevolent rule of General Im Gyeong-eop. Im Gyeong-eop (1594–1646) was a celebrated general of the mid-Joseon period. He took up the post of magistrate of Nagan, in this region of Jeolla-do, in 1626, the fourth year of King Injo. Until he transferred to the Seoul area in March 1628, the sixth year of King Injo, he governed benevolently, including building the walls of Naganeupseong, and he also won great merit during the Byeongja War and the Jeongmyo War. Many legends about him have been passed down in this area, where he came to be venerated as the region's guardian deity; a large memorial rite is still held every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month by the people of Nagan-myeon. The pavilion has one bay across the front and one bay to the side, and is roofed with a hip-and-gable roof whose profile, seen from the side, traces the shape of the character meaning "eight". Red bars are set between the pillars on the front and sides, while the rear is closed with long wooden boards forming a wall. In front of the pavilion stands a stele recording the construction of the pavilion for the former magistrate, General Im, and two plaques hang on the upper front of the pavilion: one inscribed with verses on the stele pavilion of General Im (1893, by Shin Byeong-u) and the other a record of the pavilion's reconstruction (1952, by Kim Sang-eon). These show that the pavilion was first erected in 1748, the 24th year of King Yeongjo, and was subsequently repaired in 1893 and again in 1952. The stele itself consists of a stele body set on a turtle-shaped base, topped with a capstone. The turtle head of the base has oval eyes and depicted ears, though its nose has worn away and is barely visible. Its back is convex, with a square groove in the centre for holding the stele. The capstone is carved with a dragon weaving through clouds. On the front of the stele body, the name of the stele — a tribute to the benevolent rule of Magistrate Im Gyeong-eop — is carved vertically down the centre, with the date of its erection recorded in the lower left. This record shows that the stele was erected in 1628, the sixth year of King Injo, when Im Gyeong-eop was leaving his post as magistrate for Seoul.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Suncheon, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료