Gangneung Hyoja-ri Stele

This stele stands inside a small stele pavilion in Okcheon-dong, Gangneung, raised in honour of the filial conduct and virtue of Kim Deok-jang, who lived during the reign of King Jungjong of Joseon. When his father died, Kim Deok-jang built a hut beside the grave and lived there in mourning for three years. During that time a wildfire broke out and the flames reached as far as the grave; he wailed and prayed to heaven, whereupon a sudden storm of wind and rain broke out and extinguished the fire. When the court heard of his filial devotion it granted him a commemorative gate, naming it 'Hyowoodang', and renamed his village 'Hyoja-ri' (Village of the Filial Son). Kim Deok-jang also opened his own granary to relieve the needy of the district whenever the harvest failed, and in 1578, the 11th year of King Seonjo, he was honoured with a commemorative pavilion; in 1590, the 23rd year of King Seonjo, he was appointed instructor of Pyeonggang-hyeon, and was later posthumously promoted to Vice Minister of Taxation. The pavilion no longer survives, and only this stele, raised by his descendants, remains. It is a roughly dressed, elongated stone, its front inscribed in large vertical characters with the stele's name, 'Hyoja-ri'. The pavilion that once housed it also preserved poems in praise of Hyowoodang composed by Yulgok Yi I, Oksan Yi U and Bongnae Yang Sa-eon.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gangneung, Gangwon

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료