Lee Sang-geun, UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 42

Lee Sang-geun is a traditional comb design artist, and a perfectionist. His painstaking work has been recognized since 2000 as having outstanding cultural significance and since that year he has continued to be recognized and awarded for keeping to tradition and exquisitely hand-carving wooden combs of various designs.

2010 - appointed as Wood Comb Master (Intangible Cultural Heritage No. 42)
2007 (October) - awarded certification for excellence in handicrafts by UNESCO
2007 (Nov) - invited by UN headquarters to hold an exhibition
2003 - appointed as a successor of Korean handicrafts (wood combs)
2003 - appointed as a successor of Korean ethnically special crafts
2002 - appointed as a successor of cultural tradition (No. 51) by Chungcheongnam-do
2000 (January) - published in National Geographic

A shop in Insadong is hosting a special exhibition with many spectacular works of art created by Lee Sang-geun. Normally people aren't allowed to take pictures of heritage artwork, but I explained to the lady running the shop that I am an anthropologist and write on things Korean, and then asked if I could spread the word about this incredible Intangible Cultural Heritage artist. (Intangible Cultural Heritage artist is also informally known as Living Cultural Heritage, confusing when trying to do accurate web research.) She allowed me to take a few pictures, and being thankful that she so graciously did so, I only took pictures of the combs, since that is what Lee Sang-geun is most famous for. 

However, he's a master carver of fans and other intricate art forms as well. In the shop he had on display spectacularly and intricately carved fans, which he had also hand-painted. Each fan represented multiple hours of work and one was valued at nearly a million won, as it should be! It was truly a masterpiece! 

With permission I share the following representative comb masterpieces:

Very old-style comb used by men and women after they had tied their hair in knots. The comb was then dragged through the tight hair, arranging each hair to lie smoothly with the rest. With the cutting of hair and hair not being pulled back into knots, these types of combs quickly went out of fashion.

A simple yet perfectly carved comb. Inscribed with Chinese and signed by the artist.

One of my favorite pieces in the shop - intricate giant lily pads carved with birds. Imagine the skill needed to carve such delicate detail and to create such rough texture for background and smooth foreground objects. This represents one of Lee Sang-geun's most unique carving styles!

So many combs on display. These particular ones were still priced at a couple hundred thousand won each, while the more intricately carved ones like the lily pads and birds above could be twice the amount.

Traditional decoration for the home. The eight-sided object represents the emperor (in Confucian times) while the fish symbolizes good luck and the string longevity. 

And a unique, non-traditional but fun idea - the traditional yutnori game played with, not the traditional sticks, but acorn-shaped wood pieces. I guess Lee Sang-geun wanted to put something for even the younger generation in his craft repertoire.

Korean Story-telling: Ancestral Memorial Rite for General Kim Bang Gyeong

Story-teller Seung Ah Kim and her extended family hosted a very unique trip to the Andong Kim family ancestor memorial rite ceremony for the Andong-Kim branch founder, General Kim Bang Gyeong. Ancestor General Kim dates back to the Goryeo Dynasty in the 13th century. The Andong Kim family gathers annually for the sije rite and this year opened the rite to the public.

Sije is the seasonal rites held for ancestors up to five generations past and is typically performed annually on the tenth lunar month, the best month of the year's harvest. To run smoothly, it needs financial support so the family prepares for three things: wito (money for the food and setting the table), seonsan (mountain for ancestral tombs), and jaesil (place for food preparation and rest). These three components do vary from family to family.

Sije for General Kim Bang Gyeong is held every October 9 (lunar calendar) in front of the tomb in Andong. If its rains it is held at Eumsujae, the main building, in Neungdongjaesa established only for General Kim. The day before sije the ritual team gets together to discuss the important agendas and select three eldest males for offering rice wine three times one after another with rituals assistants. 

Kangshinrye - greeting rituals to call the spirit down. Choheongwan (the first host) burns incense and pours rice wine over the burial mound three times and then bows twice.
Chamshinrye - all the participants bow twice 

Choheon - Choheongwan (the first host) offers the first rice wine and bows twice
Dokchuk - Chukgwan (reciter) recites an eulogy 

Aheon - Aheongwan (the second host) offers the second rice wine and bows twice 

Jongheon - Jeongheongwan (the final host) offers the final rice wine and bows twice 

Yusik - food offering rituals to the spirit. An assistant sticks a spoon into the center of the rice bowl facing eastward and puts a pair of chopsticks on top of the bowl also facing eastward 

Sashin - farewell ritual, bowing twice 

Eumbok (drink blessings) - participants share the ritual food and drinks as it symbolizes the receiving of the blessings bestowed upon the family 

Bunchuk - burn out all chukmun (eulogy)

I was very curious why such a private family ceremony would be opened to the public, and the answer is that "History needs to be shared!" Great answer! 

In particular, three of the elderly men of the clan have done extensive research on the family and published articles and books on the family history, specifically that of General Kim Bang Gyeong and his descendants. I commented that almost the entire clan that had gathered was over the age of 50 and was probably 80% male. Yes, I had identified a problem! But the elderly male who guided the tour in conjunction with Seung Ah Kim, the lead story-teller, said that when he was young he hadn't been interested in the family history but now he is, and so he believes that the younger generation will get interested later. He also added that his generation of people doing research have made it easy for subsequent generations. They just have to read the books published. The young generation now doesn't have much knowledge of complicated Chinese characters, the format used to write in older generations, so the published books not only compile the ancient family history, but translate it to modern Korean.

Sachon Village

Located in Sachon, Jeomgok-myeong, Uiseong-gun, Gyeongsannamdo, Sachon is the ancestral village of General Kim Bang Gyeong, and is named after the Sachon village near China, "Sajinchon". The village is surrounded by beautiful nature and the people have inherited the spirit of seonbi (virtuous scholars) of the Joseon Dynasty and led uibyeong (army raised in the cause of justice) against Japan. One of the most famous scholar-officials of the Joseon Dynasty, Ryu Seong-ryong, was born in Sachon in 1542; his mother was an Andong Kim.

Historic Sites in Andong

Manchuidang (Treasure No. 1825) is one of the oldest wooden buildings of a Joseon Dynasty private house. It is used as a living space for the head family and a gathering space for the Andong Kim family members. Manchidang was a pen name of Kim Sa-won, the old student of the prominent Korean Confucian scholar, Han Seok-bong, who composed calligraphy for the royal court. 

Seorim (West Forest) was planted by the Kim clan to fill an empty space to the west of the village. Originally 10 different species of trees were planted, and now it is a dense flourishing forest with 300-600 year-old trees. Seorim is the oldest forest of its kind in Korea. 

Jidang Pond is an artificial pond in the middle of the village. In olden days people believed in geomancy / feng shui, and according to it, with the character of "fire" in written Sachon, it was believed that by building a pond, the "fire" of Sachon would be neutralized.

The Andong Kim family clan village is located in Sachon, Andong, Gyeongsangnamdo.

the white spirit papers with ancestors names propitiously waving in the wind

the main gate to the ancestor's home, Manchuidang

story-teller Seung Ah Kim in her representative Goryeo Dynasty attire

representatives of the Andong Kim clan (note that most are men and over 50)

the main building strung with the ancestor's papers to the right;
the walkway up to the gi-filled tombsites seen between the buildings

climbing to the tomb site(s)

last-minute preparations for the ritual: arranging the spirit food correctly

during the ceremony everyone was to bow (but because it was so crowded, only the representative members in ritual white were obligated to bow; everyone else could from necessity remain standing)

as soon as the ceremony was over everyone descended on the ritually arranged food to eat (Eumbok)

Removing the food from the ancestor's altar.
It's now possible to see the multi-grave arrangements that extend up the hill.
NOTE: the picture in the lower left corner was actually off to the right of the tomb and is the food set out for the Sanshin (the mountain god), a practice that is rarely seen anymore!

A few representative families with the foreigners (15-20) who had accepted the invitation to attend the ceremony.

The tomb arrangement after the place cleared of people and ritual materials.

It's hard to believe that one hour earlier this place was crammed with people, 

ground sheets, photographers, tons of food, and a large speaker system!

a view from this highest tomb ... very propitious gi-filled site!

Other famous places related to the Andong Kim family heritage:

3 of the Most Famous Historical Descendants of Kim Bang Gyeong

Kim Sa-hyeong (1341-1407)

One of the founders of the Joseon Dynasty. In 1336, Korean official Kim Sa-hyeong led a campaign into Tsushima.

Sim Si-min (1554-1592)

Most famous for having defended Jinju Castle with untrained fighters against the Japanese invaders during the Seven Years' War. Since he was one of the greatest generals of Joseon Dynasty, he received the title "Chungmygong", Duke of Loyalty and Warfare like Naval Commander Yi Sun-shin.

Kim Gu (1876-1949)

Better known by his pen name "Baekbom", Kim Gu's autobiography "Baekbeomilji" has inspired many Korean people. He was a Korean nationalist politician, the sixth and later the last Premier of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, a leader of the Korean independence movement against the Japanese Empire, and a reunification activist after 1945.

"My Desire" 

At the end of his autobiography, Kim expressed his desire which he carried throughout his lifetime: 

"If God asked me what was my wish, I would reply unhesitatingly, "Korean independence." If He asked me what my second wish was, I would again answer, "My country's independence." If He asked me what was my third wish, I would reply in an even louder voice, "My wish is the complete independence of my country, Korea". 

"... I want our nation to be the most beautiful in the world. By this I do not mean the most powerful nation. Because I have felt the pain of being invaded by another nation, I do not want my nation to invade others. It is sufficient that our wealth makes our lives abundant; it is sufficient that our strength is able to prevent foreign invasions. The only thing that I desire in infinite quantity is the power of a noble culture. This is because the power of culture both makes us all happy and gives happiness to others."

Jinkwansa Temple: Cooking Class and Tea with a Monk

Jinkwansa Temple hosted a special food exhibition and contacted Sonja Glaeser, Founder and CEO of Hippie-Korea, a private travel group based in Suwon, to see if she could organize a group for the event. One reason Jinkwansa contacted Sonja is because she had told them about her travel group when she had very recently applied to do volunteer work with them, and the second reason was they needed a travel group who would be willing to be filmed for an upcoming Buddhist program while experiencing Jinkwansa's famed temple food.

About 25 people attended this spontaneously organized program, and I rather doubt anyone regretted it, despite the pouring rain. The food was fabulous, but then of course it was. Jinkwansa is a biguni (Buddhist nun) temple that is renowned as a temple food mecca. The head nun-monk, Ven. Gyeho, is around 70 years old and is the epitome of positivity, good health and food knowledge. While demonstrating the fine-cutting of veggies, she challenged anyone to compete with her cutting speed. No one did, and the only person who ever did and out-cut her was when former US President Obama recently came on tour to the temple and his private chef accepted the challenge. The chef not only out-chopped the monk but his cuts were even finer! To test how fine the finely cut veggies are, they are flung against a whiteboard and in such fine pieces they don't have much weight to make them fall off. Obama's chef's veggie whisps stuck for an impressively long time!

The Garden of Mind, Jinkwansa Temple (so-called on the brochure)

Jinkwansa Temple, located to the west of Seoul, is one of the four major temples around Seoul. The temple was dedicated to Preceptor Jinkwan in 1010 BC by King Hyeongjong, the 8th king of the Goryeo Dynasty. The temple is not situated amidst the beautiful surroundings of Bukhansan National Park, but also contains an impressive collection of cultural and historical properties.

Jinkwansa Temple is known for its temple food - natural homegrown veggies, prepared in person and with no commercial elements. As everything done at the temple is considered part of religious practice, from growing nuts and preparing doengjang, monastic practitioners give thanks while preparing and while eating. 

Sachal-mandoo (temple veggie dumplings) 

1 zucchini

3 dried shiitake mushroom (traditional belief - more vitamins in the dried ones)

1/4 tofu brick

2 T pine nuts

1 handful mung bean sprouts

1/4 carrot

salt and black pepper

sesame oil

sesame seeds

dumpling wrappers

1. Soak shiitake mushrooms in water then drain by squeezing. Thinly slice and stir-fry with salt.
2. Thinly slice zucchini and carrot. Also stir-fry in salt.
3. Blanch mung bean sprouts and remove water by squeezing.
4. For tofu, wrap in cheesecloth and squeeze out excess water.
5. Mix all ingredients and season with salt, sesame oil, sesame seeds and black pepper = filling
6. Place about 1 T of filling in the center of a dumpling wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half, lightly wipe wrapper perimeter with water to help create a seal, then pinch and crimp together the folded edges.
7. Steam dumplings for 15+ minutes until wrappers become somewhat transparent.

After the head monk demonstrated how to make sachal-mandoo, we went back to long tables and in groups of four cut up our small bunch of veggies and tofu, seasoned everything and experienced wrapping the filling with store-bought mandoo-wraps (too tlabor-intensive for us to mix our own dough, let it set for a few hours, then pound it out flat). Then in teams we brought our contributions to the front and put them in the large communal pot for steaming. 

After we had all prepared our mandoo, we then were taken to another hall and experienced a huge spread of vegan temple food! The food was laid out in two long tables, one table for the fruit desserts and dessert drinks like sikkye, while the other table was a huge spread of food dishes organized by fermented dishes, kimchis, root veggies and then green veggies. The perilla leaves in a soy and Asian pear sauce was the best! Never saw that dish before and too bad!

After eating and listening to an informative lecture on temple practices, we then enjoyed a very stylized tea with a monk, who explained the traditional practices of holding, serving and drinking tea. The monk was very specific about what is commonly taught as tea ceremony as being incorrect. One example she was most specific about is the taught practice of pouring the tea with one hand while gracefully holding the lid of the pot with the other. She said this would be absolutely rude as the sleeve or sleeves of one's robe would then be dragging or sometimes touching the tea cup or the food. 

This isn't a traditional tea service but is an individual arrangement.
Everyone had their own pot of tea and could pour their own tea at will, something that certainly would be unacceptable in the traditional tea ceremony where a person is designated to pour and serve using correct etiquette. Quite the nice modern tea ceremony, however!

Concerns Regarding Upcoming Olympics at Pyeongchang

The following article "Pyeongchang Legacy May Be Huge Piles of Debt" was taken from Korean JoongAng Daily, Novermber 9, 2017. Already the government is worrying about the unexpectedly low number of tickets to the Olympic games being sold to help pay for the venue and construction are still unreserved. 

According to another article I read about a month ago, the government is said to have expected 1 million people to pay for tickets to the Olympics, with 750,000 of those being Koreans who live in country. However, those projected numbers are far from being achieved! 

France is boycotting the Olympics, North Korea at the time still didn't hadn't had their qualification games so their attendance was uncertain, and then the international community had issues with attending. South and North Korea are heavily featured in the news and the political situation between the two countries is unstable, making visitors to South Korea very nervous. International communities also held campaigns against coming to S Korea also because South Koreans eat dog; petitions circulated with international people signing to boycott the Olympics because of, not really the practice of eating dog, but because of how dogs were killed in order to achieve maximum flavor in the vigor-embewing dog meat. Other petitions also circulated boycotting the South Korean winter Olympics because South Korea destroyed a 500+ year old sacred forest where the king's meat was once procured in order to build a ski-jump for the Olympic competitors. There were other sites in S Korea where the ski jump could have been built, slightly below optimum elevation but still acceptable to meet Olympic regulations, but S Korea opted to destroy a sacred forest that the government had designated as sacred less than 10 years previous. International communities were outraged, particularly on the grounds that the host countries of the Olympics must comply with environmental standards in order to (1) be hosts of the Olympics, and (2) get compensatory funds by an Olympic foundation. Obviously South Korea broke the rules and this was loudly aired online via outraged international communities.

This information is just background for readers to understand a bit more some of the dynamics affecting the low number of tickets sold thus far to people to watch the games first-hand. From this article, it's apparent that there are post-Olympic financial consequences of hosting the Olympics also.

As the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics rapidly approach, experts are increasingly voicing concerns that the legacy of the games may not be the passion and unity that the organizing committees are promising, but instead the costly, unused facilities that are likely to dot the northeast of the country.  

Four Olympic venues are yet to come up with post-Olympic plans, raising concerns that the Winter Olympics will join a growing list of international events that have ultimately gone on to cost Korea huge amounts of money.  

When the Asian Games was hosted in Incheon in 2014, about 1.72 trillion won ($1.54 billion) was spent on building 16 new venues. The majority of that is still left as debt, and Incheon has to pay between 10 billion and 150 billion won every year from 2015 to 2029.  

Not only that, the Korean Grand Prix, hosted for the first time in 2010, had to stop in 2013 as the accumulated deficit stacked up to 190 billion won.  

Excluding the PyeongChang Olympic Stadium, where the opening and closing ceremony will be held, there are a total of 12 venues for the Olympics. Of those, six of them are newly constructed and the remaining six were repaired, with the total bill racking up to about a trillion won. Including the newly-built Jeongseon Alpine Centre, which cost 203.4 billion won, Gangneung Ice Arena, costing 134 billion won, and Gangneung Oval, costing 126.4 billion won, five of the venues cost more than 100 billion won each.  

But three venues - Jeongseon Alpine Centre, Gangneung Hockey Centre and Gangneung Oval - are yet to announce a post-Olympics plan. Originally, the Gangneung Oval was expected to be broken down after the Olympics, but last year, Gangwon and the organizing committee agreed to maintain the facility.  

Daemyung Group, owner of the Daemyung Killer Whales Ice Hockey team, was originally going to take charge of the Gangneung Hockey Centre, but the company dropped out once it was revealed that the facility had a five-year operating cost of 10 billion won.  

At the Jeongseon Alpine Centre, 55 percent of the facility is expected to be restored back to its natural state. Since it’ll no longer be able to be used as a ski resort, it’s more difficult to come up with a post-Olympics plan.  

According to the Korea Industrial Strategy Institute Foundation, the annual maintenance cost of the main venues is expected to be 31.3 billion won. The foundation projects the facilities will be able to earn about 17.1 billion won a year, leaving a 14.2 billion won deficit.  

The PyeongChang Olympic Stadium is going to be the biggest problem. It cost a total of 63.5 billion won to build the stadium but it will be broken down after only four days of use throughout the Olympics and the Paralympics next year. This means that the stadium cost 15.8 billion won per day.  

Upon completion of the event, only 5,000 seats of 35,000 seats and three of seven floors will be kept. Though there hasn’t been a set plan for post-Olympic usage, the stadium is expected to be transformed into a concert hall or memorial park.  

Since Gangwon hasn’t come up with post-Olympics plans, they are asking the central government to manage the venues. To do so, they are pushing for a revision in the National Sports Promotion Act.  

“There’s a high possibility that the government will once again have to deal with the negative effects from the local government hosting such a big event,” said Lee Dae-taek, professor of physical education at Kookmin University. “Gangwon needs to be more responsible.”  

Chung Hee-joon, a sports sociology professor at Dong-A University, also pointed out that, “Hoenggye, where the Olympic Plaza is located, is a small town with only a population of 4,000. It’s difficult to make a post-Olympics plan.”  

To fix this, the organizing committee may have to study the success of low cost and high-efficiency events like the Gwangju Universiade and 6th CISM World Games Military Games, Korea.  

The 2015 Summer Universiade in Gwangju was by far the most successful event in Korea financially, as they only constructed three of the 69 facilities and used existing venues for the remaining events.  

The podiums were provided by the Incheon Asian Games organizing committee at no cost and the seats at the stadiums were folding chairs. Rather than flower bouquets, winners were awarded the event’s mascot dolls and tents were used as waiting rooms for players.  

This allowed savings of 199.9 billion won in operating and equipment expenses.  

The 6th CISM World Games Military Games in Mungyeong installed 350 caravans as athletes’ accommodation. Throughout the tournament, the total budget was 165.3 billion won with equipment expenses of 18.7 billion won. 

BY SONG JI-HOON, PARK RIN [kang.yoorim@joongang. co.kr]

Donggureung, Hongneung, Yureung - Royal Tombs

Jihoon Suk, a new member of the Royal Asiatic Society and a recent MA graduate in Korean Modern History from Yonsei, led a tour of some of the royal tombs. Since he grew up in the precincts of Donggureung and has seen the changes since childhood, he had great commentary on the development and "exportation of modern culture" on the tombs and their appearances today as compared to just 20 years ago.

 

Royal Tombs of Donggureung, UNESCO World Heritage

The largest royal tomb cluster of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), Donggureung refers to nine tumuli east of Seoul where seven kings and their ten queen consorts, spanning almost the entire dynasty, are buried. They include Geonwolleung for the found King Taejo (r. 1392-1398), Mongneung for the 14th ruler, King Seonjo (r. 1567-1608), and Wolleung for the 21st monarch, King Yeongjo (r. 1724-1776).

Located at an extraordinarily auspicious site, the cluster was initially called Dongoreung (eastern five tombs) and then Dongchilneung (eastern seven tombs). The current name dates to 1855 when Sureung was added to inter the posthumously named King Munjo (1809-1830).

The 40 Joseon royal tombs, except for two in North Korea, were collectively inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in June 2009 in recognition of their traditional Korean architectural style, beautiful landscaping in harmony with the natural settings, the rituals held at the royal grave sites, comparable examples of which are hard to find in any other country, and rich documentary heritage related to the tombs.

East Nine Royal Tombs, Guri

Historic Site No. 193

After the demise of King Taejo, the founder and the 1st monarch of the Joseon Dynasty in 1408, King Taejong, the 3rd monarch of the dynasty, built a royal tomb for King Taejo at this location. Throughout the Joseon Dynasty, other kings and queens were buried here also. As a result, there are a total of 9 royal tombs in this site.

• Geonwolleung - the tomb of King Taejo, 1st monarch
• Hyeolleung - the tomb of King Munjong, 5th monarch and Queen Hyeondeok
• Mongneung - the tomb of King Seonjo, 14th monarch, Queen Uiin and his 2nd Queen Inmok
• Hwireung - the tomb of Queen Jangnyeol, 2nd Queen of King Injo, 16th monarch
• Sungreung - the tomb of King Hyeongjong, 18th monarch and Queen Myeongseong
• Hyeongeung - the tomb of Queen Danui, queen to Gyeongjong, 20th monarch
• Wolleung - the tomb of Yeongjo, 21st monarch, and his 2nd Queen Joengsun
• Sureung - the tomb of posthumous Emperor Munjo and Empress Sinjeong
• Gyeongneung - the tomb of Emperor Heonjong, 24th monarch, Empress Hyohyeon and the 2nd Empress Hyojeong

In accordance with pungsu (geomancy), Donggureung has Mt. Geoman as the guardian mountain jusan at the rear, and most of the burial mounds are located halfway up the hill. Donggureung also features topographical elements, including a symbolic blue dragon on the left and a white tiger to the right and the opposite mountain overlooking the site of the burial mounds to the south. Donggureung with the area of 196-ha shows various types of burial mounds. These are:

• Dalleung, the grave mound of a king or queen alone on a hill
• Ssangneung, the grave mounds with the king and queen side by side on the hill
• Dongwonigangneung, the separated mounds with king and queen placed on adjacent hills running from the same guardian mountain
• Hapjangneung, the bodies of the king and queen buried under the same mound
• Sanyeolleung, the triple parallel mounds of a king and his queens on the same hill

Stele for King Taejo at Geonwolleung Royal Tomb, Guri

Treasure No 1803

The stele for King Taejo at the Geonwolleung Royal Tomb in Guri was erected in 1409 (the 9th year of the reign of King Taejong of the Joseon Dynasty) to commemorate the life and achievements of Yi Seong-gye (1335-1408), who later became King Taejo, the founder of the Joseon Dynasty. The stele bears an inscription recounting the story of King Taejo's life and the foundation of the Joseon Dynasty. With its excellent preservation of dragon-shaped capstone, main body and tortoise-shaped pedestal, it is told that the stele had become an example to the other stele dedicated for the kings of early Joseon Dynasty and also to the monuments of later times.

The epitaphs on the front and back of the stele were composed by Seon Seun (1352-1430), a renowned scholar and civil official of the early Joseon Period, and Byeon Gye-ryang (1389-1430), a great write of the same period. The name of the stele was written by Jeong Gu (1350-1418), a noted official and calligrapher, and the epitaphs were beautifully inscribed by the hand of Seong Seok-rin (1338-1423), a master calligrapher of the early Joseon period.

Although the tortoise-shaped pedestal was reconstructed at a later date, this stele exhibits the representative features of steles of the early Joseon Period, and attests to the shift from the traditional Goryeo structure to a new style of stele that incorporated the tradition of the Ming Dynasty.

It is also an invaluable cultural heritage that provides profound insights for research on Korean history, cultural history, and calligraphic history.

Hongneung and Yureung Royal Tombs, Namyangju

Historic Sites No. 207

UNESCO World Heritage (June 30, 2009)

This historic site is home to Hongneung, the tomb of Emperor Gojong (1852-1919), the 26th monarch of the Joseon Dynasty, buried together with Empress Myeongseong from the Min clan (1852-1895), and Yureung, the tomb of Emperor Sunjong (1874-1926), the 27th monarch of the Joseon Dynasty, buried with both of his Empresses, Empress Sunmyeonghyo (1872-1904) from the Min clan and Empress Sunjeonghyo (1894-1966) from the Yoon clan. 

In accordance with pungsu (geomantic principles), Hongneung and Yureung were built in front of Myojeok Mountain as a main mountain to protect the burial ground, since its topography reflects a blue dragon to the left and a white tiger to the right and faces another mountain at a distance.

Unlike the royal tombs of the predecessors, Hongneung and Yureung are imperial royal tombs which clearly show the changes that took place in the royal burial system during the Joseon Period. Those changes are, in front of the burial mound, a Chimjeon instead of Jeongjagak is placed and stone statues of civil and military officials, animal figures of giraffes, elephants, lions, haetaes, camels and horses are erected in order along the Spirit Road - Royal Road, the stone path from the Chimjeon to the Hongsalmun on both sides. The Spirit Road - Royal Road also became wider and Jaesil, ritual preparation chamber, became larger than those of past royal tombs.

There are more royal tombs located within this historic site. These are: 

• Yeongwon, the tomb of King Yeongchin, son of Emperor Gojong, and his Queen
• Hoeinwon, the tomb of Imperial Prince Gu, son of King Yeoungchin
• the tomb of King Uichin, son of Emperor Gojong
• the tomb of Princess Deokhye, daughter of Emperor Gojong

Yeongwon - Hoeinwon Royal Tomb

Yeongwon is the tomb of Crown Prince Ulmin (1897-1970), also known by his imperial title Yeongchinwang), the last crown prince of the Korean Empire, and his wife Crown Princess Uimin (1901-1989). When the crown prince died in 1970, his burial place (Yeongwon) was prepared near Hongneung, the tomb of his father Emperor Gojong. His wife was buried alongside him in Yeongwon upon her death in 1989. To the east of Yeongwon is Hoeinwon, the tomb of their second son Lee Gu (1931-2005). Built in the traditional style of royal tombs of the Joseon Dynasty, Yeongwon comprises a tomb keeper's house, a red-spiked gate, a T-shaped wooden shrine, and a stele pavilion. The mound is surrounded by retaining stones, other stone structures including statues of a ram, tiger and horse, stone pillars, a rectangular stone table, a stone lantern, and statues of civil and military officials.

Arirang Stele Forest Park, Mungyeong Saejae

On the approach to the Mungyeong Saejae Provincial Park, Gyeongsangbukdo, is the Arirang Stele Forest Park. Calling it a forest is a bit much, but this pass at Mungyeong is where scholars and yangban traveled from the southeast areas of Korea to Seoul, often on governmental business but also for taking the state-administered exams. Legend has it that one of the Arirang songs was composed in this pass. For this reason, the Arirang-Stele Forest Park was built here. 

monument for Mungyeong Saejae Provincial Park

Two placards amidst the steles explain the conceptual creation of the park (2015):

All kinds of lyrics of Arirang, one of the representative folk songs of Korea, which reflects the joys and sorrows of the Korean people, were searched for and investigated. Among them, approximately 10,000 pieces were selected and finally recorded on hanji, the traditional Korean handmade paper, made in Mungyreong, by 120 calligraphers in 2013. The aim was to preserve the lyrics of Arirang which are nearly forgotten and to further honor the spirit of the song to wish for the reunification of South and North Korea to move forward into the future together by erecting steles. Moreover, to commemorate approximately 10,000 pieces of Arirang here and make this place the birthplace of the Arirang-Stele Forest, Arirang songs that are enjoyably sung by all Koreans were engraved on those steles. Calligraphers born in Mungyeong such as Hwang Gyu-uk, Jo Yong-cheol, Chae Sun-hong, Kim Ho-sik, and Kim Yeong-bae wrote the lyrics in calligraphy.

 

The traditional song known as "Mugyeongsaejae Arirang" contains local sentiment in its melodies and rhythms. During the reign of King Gojong (1863-1907), American missionary Homer Bezaleel Hulbert (1863-1949) recorded it as a typical folk song of Joseon Dynasty. The refrain "Mun-gyung sai-chai pak-tala-n mu hong-do-kai pang-maing-i ta na kan da" led to the creation of other versions of Arirang across the country. The local Arirang song was gradually falling into oblivion with the passage of time. However, as luck would have it, a local singer named Song Yeong-cheol revived the song, preserving it for future generations. Today we are erected this monument in the fervent hope that this song will fill the Korean people with hope and promote a spirit of reconciliation, while helping us to find a new path based on the old traditions. Now we sing a line from the song that embodies all the joys and sorrows of our ancestors while traveling over the pass.

Varying lyrics of Arirang are inscribed on granite -- steles to the music of Arirang!