• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.12-26
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• 2023

Recently, 『Gyeongja(庚子)/Daetongryeok(大統曆)』(1600), a memorandum record of Yu Seong-ryong during the reign of King Seonjo(宣祖) of the Joseon Dynasty, was returned to Korea from Japan, and about 4,000 letters in cursive characters have been interpreted by Ro Seung-suk. The contents for 203 days written in the margin of 『Gyeongja(庚子)/Daetongryeok(大統曆)』 are mostly new, and are meaningful in understanding Yu's life and social association circumstances. There are daily routines of each day, contemporary figures, diseases and oriental medicine prescriptions. In particular, the combat record of Admiral Yi Sun-shin in 83 letters on the cover is very important to understand the situation in those days. It seems that the reason for writing the combat situations a year and a few months after Admiral Yi died in war was to honor his distinguished military service for a long time by King Seonjo's order according to the public opinion of the royal court. The record can be classified into two categories. First, Admiral Yi sighed when he heard about Yu's dismissal from the office in Gogeumdo, and was always alert with clear water on the boat after the Battle of Waekyo Castle. Second, he was killed by bullets shot by the enemy while directly encouraging battle, not listening to his men who tried to dissuade him from leading the naval battle at Noryang. This only contained contents of devoting his life desperately, which is an important proof of the theory of his death in war. It also contains nine methods for making liquor and another method that wasn't known to the public, and seems to include popular alcohol brewing methods or newly devised ones. In addition, there is a detail that Heo Jun, the author of 『Donguibogam』, introduced medicine to Yu, along with being unable to attend ancestral rites and relieving the poor written in red. There are also stories about Kang Hang(姜沆) returning to Korea after being captured by Japan and Lee Deok-hong(李德弘)'s son, who introduced Gugapseondo(龜甲船圖, the first picture of the Turtle Ship in Korea) to King Seonjo. In the light of the above, 『Gyeongja(庚子)/Daetongryeok(大統曆)』is an important historical record to empirically research not only figures related to Yu but also the circumstances of those days since it contains new facts that are not in the existing literature. In particular, the big accomplishment of this study is to correct the mistakenly known theory of Admiral Yi's suicide and to find out the new fact that Heo Jun provided medical information. In this respect, this book is expected to serve as a testament to the future study of the history and characters related to Yu in the mid-Joseon period.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.26-42
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to examine and understand the area and the original outer boundaries of Hamchunwon(含春苑), which was the outer royal garden of Gyeonghuigung Palace, which existed before the site of the Russian legation. The results of the study are as follows. First, examining the 3 types of drawings prepared for securing the Russian legation's site and constructing a new building, it was confirmed that two low peaks, which appear to be the original terrain of Hamchunwon, existed in the north and south directions inside the site. According to the initial plan of the of the legation's site, it appears that the entrance of the legation building is connected to the Saemunan-ro in the northwest. However, according to the report made at the time when the Russian temporary minister Veber purchased the legation's site, it was recorded that the site already had a narrow entrance and a dirt road in place, and hence, it was connected to Saemunan-ro. This fact makes it possible to learn that the line of movement for officials and the original gate were located to the northwest of the site planned as the entrance of the legation building towards Hamchunwon. Second, the site was created by cutting the top of the high hill at the time of the construction of the legation building, and as a result, a two tiered staircase typed terrace was built. The ground on which the main building and the secretary's building, etc., were erected was made by cutting the highest peak and solidifying it flat, and a large quantity of soil was used for grading. In the case of the northern area of the main building, the traces of leveling the terrain by cutting the mountains are apparent, and an observation typed garden with a walking path and pavilion was formed by utilizing the physical environment equipped with an easy view. This may be considered as a use which is consistent with the topographical conditions of creating an outer royal garden to block the civilian views on a high terrain overlooking the palace. Third, Hamchunwon's fences were partially exposed in the photos from the 1880s through the 1890s, which demonstrate the spatial changes made around the US, UK, and the Russian legations. As a result of the photo analysis performed, Hamchunwon occupies the northern area of the Russian legation's site, and it is estimated that the north, west, and east walls of the legation resembled those of Hamchunwon. The area to the south of the Russian legation was originally a place made available for civilian houses, and it was possible to examine the circumstances of purchasing dozens of civilian houses and farmlands according to various materials. Fourth, Hamchunwon, which was formed as the outer royal garden of Gyeongdeokgung Palace of Lord Gwanghaegun, lost its sense of place as an outer royal garden when the entire building of Gyeonghuigung Palace was torn down and used as a construction members during the reconstruction of Gyeongbokgung Palace, and faded away as the site was sold to Russia around 1885. The area where Hamchunwon used to be located transformed into a core space of the Russian legation where the main building and garden were located after the construction of the new building. Hence, Hamchunwon, which was limited to the northern area of the Russian legation, does not carry the temporal and spatial context with Gyeongungung Palace and Seonwonjeon which were constructed after 1897, and it is determined that the view of Seonwonjeon as Baehoorim or Baegyeongrim is not valid.