Eunjin Im Clan Memorial Gate Pavilion, Geochang

The memorial gate at Galgye-ri enshrines a total of six commendations (jeongnyeo): two "living commendations" (saengjeongnyeo) granted during their lifetimes in 1563, the gyehae year of King Myeongjong of Joseon, when Magistrate Park Eung-sun of Aneum county publicised the filial conduct of the brothers Im Hun and Im Un; the commendation of Im Han-sin and his wife, of the Park clan of Goryeong, granted in 1832, the imjin year of King Sunjo; the commendation of Im Gyeong-won, granted in 1891, the sinmyo year, the twenty-eighth year of Emperor Gojong; and the commendation of Im Ji-ye, granted in 1905, the ninth year of the Gwangmu era. However, none of the six commendation plaques, nor the plaque recording the commendations, has survived, and six stone monuments now stand in their place. The pavilion was first built in 1564 at the initiative of Magistrate Yi Hyo-eon, and is said to have been repaired in 1600 according to Jeong On's "Record of the Repair of the Memorial Gate" (Jeongnyeogak jungsugi), but the building standing today appears to have been constructed around 1905–1910. The pavilion is a gable-roofed building with double eaves, three bays wide and one bay deep. On compacted ground, single-stone foundation plinths were laid, cut square below and hexagonal above, and thick round columns were erected on top of them. The rear wall is finished in wooden board; the side walls have lattice windows above the middle rail and board below; and the front wall has lattice windows above the middle rail and crossed lattice below, a treatment that allows for ventilation while emphasising the building's frontal façade. The bracket sets project two steps inward and one step outward, with additional space brackets placed between the columns; to support these, a flat beam (pyeongbang) was placed above the lintel beam (changbang). The brackets are of the upturned, single-wing (chogikgong) type, with a phoenix-head ornament attached to the end of the main beam sitting atop them. The roof frame is of the three-purlin type, with a carved board-type king post set on a square board above the main beam to support the ridge purlin; the sloping sides of the ceiling are finished as raked ceilings, while the section connecting the ridge purlin and the horizontal purlin is finished as a coffered ceiling. The eaves are finished with roof-end tiles, and wind boards are attached on both sides. The perimeter is enclosed by a side gate and a traditional Korean-style wall built of mixed earth and stone. Although the absence of commendation plaques, with only stone monuments remaining, falls somewhat short of the formal requirements of a memorial gate, the building's scale and stylistic refinement are of a quality rarely matched elsewhere in South Gyeongsang Province. It is also a historic site associated with the brothers Im Hun and Im Un, renowned as both scholars and filial sons, and it is considered appropriate to preserve it as a Cultural Heritage Material, serving as educational material on traditional culture and as research material on architectural history for future generations.

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Where it is

Region

Geochang, Gyeongnam

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료