• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.66-81
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• 2014

Burnt down during the Imjin War(壬辰倭亂) of 1592, Gyeongbokgung Palace(景福宮) remained in ruins until 1865, when in the second year of King Gojong's(高宗) reign, reconstruction work began. At the time, a royal protocol(uigwe, 儀軌) for the reconstruction was not produced. Instead, the Gyeongbokgung Palace Construction Diary(Gyeongbokgung yeonggeon ilgi, 景福宮營建日記) records the reconstruction process from June to September of 1865. The contents of this diary reveal that the stone used in the construction was obtained from Ganghwa(江華), the Yeongpung field(映楓亭) just beyond Dongdaemun, and Samcheongdong(三淸洞), among other sites. In addition, selected stone remaining from the original Gyeongbokgung Palace site - such as that from the palace astronomical observatory(ganuidae, 簡儀臺) - as reused, while a number of buildings and stonework from Gyeonghuigung Palace(慶熙宮) were moved to Gyeongbokgung Palace. As a result, a number of $17^{th}$ and $18^{th}$ century stonework are currently located at Gyeongbokgung Palace. The Gyeongbokgung Palace Construction Diary contains a record indicating that the bronze dragon(靑銅龍) excavated from the lotus pond at the palace's Gyeonghoeru Pavilion(慶會樓) was created by special technician byeolganyeok(別看役) Kim Jae-su(金在洙) in 1865 for the symbolic purpose of protecting the palace from fire. The diary also reveals that among Kim Jae-su and the other special technicians(byeolganyeok) tasked with the installation and oversight of the palace stonework was Lee Se-ok(李世玉) - aid to have created the haechi statue at Gwanghwamun Gate. This indicates that there were men of court painter(hwawon, 畵員) background among the construction special technicians(byeolganyeok). Moreover, the diary records the names of the stoneworkers(seokjang, 石匠) who worked under these special technicians to actually carve the stonework. These included Jang Seong-bok(張聖福), who participated in the creation of the Geunjeongjeon Hall(勤政殿); and Kim Jin-myeong(金振明), who took part in the construction of Gwanghwamun Gate(光化門). Based on these results, it is possible to identify a number of special iconographic features of the scale-covered animal form(insuhyeong, 鱗獸形) auspicious animal statues at Gyeongbokgung Palace. These include a protruding mouth and large nose, formalized ears, and a mane along the back. Comparing these iconographic features with those found in the stonework of Joseon tombs makes it clear that these palace statues were created in the latter half of the $19^{th}$ century - the period corresponding to Gojong's palace reconstruction. This study was able to confirm that this iconography was taken up by the Gyeongbokgung Palace construction special technicians(byeolganyeok) and stoneworkers(seokjang) as they worked on tomb stonework earlier in their careers.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.124-139
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• 2013

Choi Cheon-yak(about 1684~1755) is an artist who left the various artistic works such as sculptures of royal tombs, architectures. In addition, he was not only a skilled caster but also an able artisan carving jade in the early Joseon Dynasty period. Starting from making royal seals of King Suk-jong, he had made more than about 40 Royal seals until 1755. Choi Cheon-yak was well known as a skilled jade craftsman. Another of his great abilities was to carve subjects into ideal figures. In virtue of his greater abilities, he could take part in the process of constructing Royal tombs and sculpting the stone statues of military officials' which were erected at aristocrats' tombs. With these accumulated skills, when he was in charge of designing the folding screen stones for King In-jo's Jang Neong, he could even replace 12 animals system and clouds with peonies and lotus. Among his various abilities, his skill in carving a sculpture can stand comparison with any other contemporaries. His sculpture skill was at its zenith in 1752, the stone statues of military officials' at the Ui soseson's tomb count his showpiece that describes a model at the age of his late teens and is a realistic and portrayal sculpture, which met the royal family's dignity. In the same year, the stone statues of military officials' constructed by Choi Cheon-yak was elected in front of the Jo Hyen-myeong's tomb(1690~1752). This masterpiece referred to the armor of those of King Gong-min Neong and newly added a helmet and the patterns of a tortoise shell. These patterns of a tortoise shell were passed down to Park Moon-su's tomb in 1756 and Queen Jeong-sung's Hong Neung by his colleagues : Kim Ha-jeong and Byeon Yi-jin etc. He was one of the greatest sculptors in the $18^{th}$ century. People in Joseon praised him highly for his imaginative work from an amorphous object. Especially, these stone statues of military at Jo Hyeonmyeong's tomb shows the proofs of his supreme artwork.

• Journal of architectural history
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.115-131
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• 2007

Jeong Woo-tae(?-1809) was a military official who had worked as Byeol-Gan-Yeok in the governmental construction works during the late 18th century through the early 19th century. Byel-Gan-Yeok, literally a special technician, was an official post in the governmental construction works that carries specific technical tasks from the mid 18th century. Over 30 years, Jeong Woo-tae had devoted himself in the construction of various royal tombs, city walls, and palace buildings. He showed superb and various techniques in the works of stone carving and architectural details. After finishing the construction of the tomb of King Jeong-jo's father successfully, he was appointed as a governor of a rural town. Being on duty of the governor, he used to participate in the construction works as a technician. He also made a couple of innovative devices in the field of construction, like a carrying apparatus, Byel-Nok-No. His works secured the setting up of the post of Byel-Gan-Yeok in the governmental construction system in the 19th century. But his technical achievement remained as his own private works rather than developing to the universal growth of the craftsmen's skill. This might be a limitation of the Byel-gan-Yeok's role, whose position was remained in the midway between official and craftsman.