Kim Jeong Remains Stele, Boeun

Kim Jeong (pen name Chungam, 1486-1520) was born in Seongjok, Boeun, and placed first in the civil service examination (munkwa) in 1507. He served as a censor (jeongeon) and as magistrate of Sunchang, among other posts, and was dismissed from office over a memorial calling for the reinstatement of the deposed Queen Sin, before later being reinstated and rising through posts including Deputy Director of the Hongmungwan, Right Second Royal Secretary, Chief Royal Secretary, Second Minister of Personnel, Inspector-General, and Minister of Justice. In 1519, during the Gimyo Purge, a literati purge of that year, he was exiled to Jeju Island and subsequently ordered to take his own life; he was later exonerated and posthumously honoured with the title of Chief State Councillor. He is one of the representative Confucian scholars of North Chungcheong Province. The remains stele and its stele pavilion stand at 179 Seongjok-ri, Boeun-eup, erected in 1797 to commemorate the birthplace and childhood home of Kim Jeong, a scholar and distinguished official of the reign of King Jungjong of Joseon. The inscription was composed by Song Hwan-gi (pen name Seongdam), a civil official of the late Joseon period. Inside the pavilion stands Kim Jeong's stele together with that of his elder brother, known as Jangam. The granite stele consists of a base, a stele body and a capstone. Its front face bears the incised inscription "Chungam Kim Seonsaeng Yuheobi" (Remains Stele of Master Kim Jeong). The text begins on the left side and continues onto the right, where the date of erection is recorded; the closing date formula shows the stele to have been completed in 1796. The base is a stepped double platform with a groove into which the stele body is set, topped by a capstone shaped like a hip-and-gable roof and decorated with scrolling foliage and other motifs. The pavilion is a single-bay by single-bay structure with a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof raised on stone columns below and timber columns above, with bracket sets between the horizontal beams and walls finished with latticed windows. The pavilion today also houses the 1973 stele of Kim Jeong's elder brother, Jangam. Although erected in the late 18th century, this remains stele stands in the village where Kim Jeong, a representative scholar-official and Confucian scholar of North Chungcheong Province, was born and raised, and is a valuable source for understanding his life and scholarly background. Composed by Song Hwan-gi, a leading civil official of the late Joseon period, the stele has great conservation value given both the historical importance of its subject and the standing of the author of its inscription.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Boeun, Chungbuk

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료