• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.62-79
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• 2015

The Stele for State Preceptor Doseon and Seon Master Sumi of Dogapsa Temple in Yeongam was erected in the fourth month of 1653. It was made with stone obtained from Yeosan(present-day Yeosan-myeon, Iksansi), and contains an inscription - engraved in the spring of 1651 - commemorating the two priests. The project to erect the monument was led by eminent monks, including Gakseong and Sucho, with the support of royal patrons and powerful statesmen including Prince Inpyeong(1622~1658). This monument is thought to be the first of its kind to have a capstone in the shape of a 'dragon loop' handle of the kind traditionally attached to the top of a temple bell. Stone stelae with a dragon-loop-shaped capstone continued to be used by the royalty and nobility of Joseon until the 18th century. The inscription engraved on the rear face of the monument reveals that it was made by Jo Mal-ryong, a renowned stonemason who worked on stone monuments and figures for royal tombs in the mid-Joseon period. He is known as the only stonemason to have been awarded the third highest rank(Jeong-sampum) of government, including the posts of Grand Master(Tongjeong Daebu) and General(Jeolchung Janggun), as recorded in the inscription. The monument corroborates the prevalent view that he was the creator of monumental capstones of the highest aesthetic merit in Joseon, and provides valuable insights about the leading artisans who produced monumental stones for royal tombs in the 17th century. This particular monument is highly regarded as a valuable historical relic because of the detailed information contained in the inscription, including the dates, work processes, patrons and artisans related with its creation, and because it features outstanding workmanship by some of the greatest artisans of the period. The monument also provides important clues about the transition from the Buddhist monuments created under the auspices of the royalty and nobility of mid-period Joseon to the symbolic stone structures and figures made for the tombs of royalty and nobility.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.44-65
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• 2018

This study examined the costumes of the characters in the painting titled Hig yongru Banghwoedo, which was designated as National Treasure No. 1879 in September 2015, and is currently kept in the Dongguk University Museum. The painting depicts a social gathering of Joseon aristocrats held at the higyongru, or watch tower, of the Gwangjumok, a government office, in 1567. It is characterized by the delicate illustration of the government officials, the main characters of the gathering, and the hyangri, ajeon, najang, chorye, akgong, and yeogi, the lower-class employees of the office. In order to investigate the costumes they wore, diverse materials including literature, costume artifacts, and paintings were used as reference sources. The scope of the study was limited to the characters' headdress and gown, and the accessories attached to the former. The study of men's clothing revealed that officials wore a samo and a red dalryeong as basic attire. In addition, it is presumed that they wore a belt indicating their official rank in the hierarchy, and a pair of black shoes. Retired officials wore a heuklip wrapped in horsehair or silk fabric with a red jing-nyeong and a doah. The hyangri wore a heukjukbanglip on their head, as well as a white jing-nyeong and a belted doah. In the Goryeo period, the banglip was a type of official headdress worn by members of the aristocratic elite ranked immediately below the king, but in Joseon it was demoted as the official headgear of the hyangri class, which was confirmed through Higyongru Banghwoedo. The ajeon wore a heuklip on their head, and a white jing-nyeong and a doah at the waist. As a rule, the najang wore a chogun on the head, and a banbieui on cheolrik and chungmokdai, but the najang in Higyongru Banghwoedo are depicted wearing a chogun and a cheolrik without a banbieui. Also, the chorye wore a heuklip wrapped in hemp cloth with a red cheolrik, whereas the akgong wore a somoja and a red cheolrik. Female entertainers, both adults and children, are depicted in the painting as either serving the aristocrats, dancing, or playing a musical instrument, wearing their hair in a voluminous, round, high bun, and dressed in a red daiyo, a hwangjangsam with a straight or reclined collar, and a belt. Notably, the donggi, i.e. young gisaeng, are shown wearing their hair in two short braids, and ddressed in a red gown with a y-shaped collar, or po.

• 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.47 no.1
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• pp.134-151
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• 2014

This paper deals with a review of the structure and production techniques of the Dried-lacquer Amitabha Buddha statue enshrined in Geungnakjeon Hall of Simhyangsa Temple, located in Daeho-dong, Naju-si, Jeollanam-do, Korea. To achieve this goal, X-ray date and two rounds of field research were performed. The data collected were reviewed, and a sample peeled off from the damaged part was analyzed to investigate the structure and material of the background layer. The results revealed that the Simhyangsa Temple Buddha statue was an almost empty Dried-lacquer(Hyeopjeo) Buddha statue where wood core had not been framed and inserted in the statue. It was thus observed that considering that the clothes wrinkles clearly remained, the same one as the irregularity of the outer clothes wrinkles, the Dried-lacquer layer was lifted made in an almost complete shape in the process of forming the clay figure as the origin form. The statue was found to be diagonally incised from the top of the head to the back of the neck to remove the clay and wood core. But in other sites, no incision was confirmed. It was observed that on the site of the head where the incision was made, an adhesives(lacquer or paste) was used. In addition, the black eyes were impacted with beads and the ears, hands, bands, and knots were made of wood. These features are identically shown in the Dried-lacquer Amitabha Buddha statue from Seonguksa Temple, known as a work of the late Goryeo dynasty; the Seated Dried-lacquer Buddha statue in Okura Museum of Art in Tokyo, Japan; the Seated Dried-lacquer Amitabha Buddha statue from Jungnimsa Temple, know as a work of the early Joseon dynasty; and the Seated Vairocana Buddha statue in Bulhoesa Temple, the Seated Dried-lacquer Amitabha Buddha and the Seated Dried-lacquer Buddha statue from Silsangsa Temple. The analysis of the back layer demonstrated that the ground layer and the red lacquer were the production of the time. In particular, the bone ash used for the ground layer was also coated for the ground layer of Buddha statues as well as for the production of the lacquerware during the Goryeo dynasty. It was also found that gold mending was conducted more than twice even in modern times and that the layer of the production time was well preserved despite gold mending several times.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.42-57
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• 2017

The Joseon Dynasty (1392~1910) had a long tradition of making official seals to commemorate the granting of official royal titles, including posthumous honorary titles, to its kings, queens, crown princes and queen dowagers. These royal seals were typically gold-plated or made of jade. After the death of its holder, each seal would be stored in the royal seal depository in the Royal Ancestral Shrine. Extensive efforts were made to restore the traditions and culture of the royal family of Joseon during the reign of King Sukjong (r. 1674~1720). In 1705, discussions were held about the royal ceremonial objects, including the royal seals, stored in the Royal Ancestral Shrine, resulting in the reproduction of a set of accessories related with the storage of royal seals and ten golden royal seals which had been lost during wars or had yet to be made. With these reproductions, each shrine chamber of the Royal Ancestral Shrine would have had at least one seal. The details of the reproduction project were meticulously recorded in The Royal Protocol by the Directorate for the Restoration of Golden Royal Seals("金寶改造都監儀軌"). Given that the restoration project was the single event that led to the reproduction of all the golden royal seals, it is reasonable to conclude that the directorate had fulfilled a historically significant function. In this study, the main discussion is focused on the establishment of the directorate and the storage and management of the damaged royal seals. The discussion includes the manufacturing process of the golden seals, for which The Royal Protocol is compared with other similar documents in order to gain more detailed knowledge of the measurements of the turtle knob, the lost-wax casting technique, the gold plating with mercury amalgamation technique, and other ornamentation techniques. The discussion also covers the activities of the artisans who made the royal seals, based on a study of the royal protocols; the styles of the artifacts, based on an examination of the remaining examples; and the techniques used by the Directorate for the Restoration of Golden Royal Seals to produce the royal seals in 1705.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.74-95
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• 2009

Folk villages have higher historic and cultural values than other villages and contain considerably many traditional elements today. In Korea, there are seven folk villages that are under the protection of the Cultural Properties Protection Act. Unlike other kinds of tangible cultural assets individually appointed according to the act, those folk villages are protected by the act in entirety including the houses and auxiliary structures inhabited and used by the villagers. Since the act covers the entire villages, the residents are not allowed to repair or renovate their structures and accordingly suffer from huge limitations in everyday life with housing life under the biggest restrictions. Being appointed as a folk village is positive from the perspective of preserving the village. However, it is negative to the villagers because of the limitations to their housing lives. While common people lead a convenient life by the introduction of high technologies in modern society, they do not get to benefit from such technologies for the cause of preserving the traditional culture. Upon the appointment, they are subject to all sorts of building regulations and under huge direct and indirect influences of those regulations across many different aspects of life including housing life. Thus the residents of folk villages do have many complaints about the act. It is only natural that there occur conflicts between the state, which tries to preserve the traditional culture according to the act, and the residents, who pursue convenience in life. At the same time, it is natural too that the residents have the desire to pursue convenience in daily life. Thus they renovate their houses illegally. The government agencies are aware of that, however, it is not right for them to enforce the act and restrict their daily lives. Their tacit approval of such illegal renovations is the product of compromises between the residents' right to their private property and the state's policies of cultural asset protection. The residents try to renovate their houses within the limit that will not call for legal restrictions from the government agencies. The government allows for renovations as long as they are within the minimum limit. It is the result of efforts for the state and the residents to stitch up and compromise their own complaints.

• 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.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.72-87
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• 2009

This research is insect diversity analysis on the basis of survey results and bibliographies of Hongdo Island, Mts. Seoraksan, Hallasan, Daeamsan & Daeusan, Hyangnobong peak & Geonbongsan nature reserves and Dokdo Protected Natural Area among 10 designated nature reserves. The Mt. Hallasan nature reserve has 1,867 species in 22 orders and shows the highest species diversity. The species diversities of Mt. Seoraksan, Mt. Hyangnobong peak & Geonbongsan, Hongdo Island, Mt. Daeamsan & Daeusan, and Dokdo Protected Natural Area reveal 1,604 species in 19 orders, 704 species in 18 orders, 474 species in 19 orders, 468 species in 16 orders, and 114 species in 11 orders, respectively, in descending order. The order Lepidoptera shows as dominant taxa in Hongdo, Seoraksan, Hallasan, Hyangnobong peak & Geonbongsan, whereas the order Coleoptera as subdominant taxa in these areas. On the other hand, in Mt. Daeamsan & Daeusan, and Dokdo Protected Natural Area, the order Coleoptera appears as dominant taxa whereas the order Lepidoptera as subdominant taxa. The order Ephemeroptera has been shown the highest species diversity in Seoraksan which is reported to 25 species, Odonata in Hallasan to 28, Dermaptera in Seoraksan to 9, Orthoptera in Hallasan to 51, Hemiptera in Hallasan to 175, Homoptera in Seoraksan to 126, Hymenoptera in Hallasan to 183, and Diptera in Hallasan to 206. The species diversity is generally poor in Daeamsan & Daeusan, Hyangnobong peak & Geonbongsan, and Dokdo Protected Natural Area. Maybe this result is caused by the lack of various academic surveys compared to the other areas. It is needed to study systematic academic investigation on insect in the nature reserve areas in Korea, and to plan appropriate management and conservation on natural environment considering biodiversity of each nature reserve area.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.80-99
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• 2012

It is known that there are two Gabong taesil (shrine for King's umbilical cord) of King Danjong, the 6th king of Joseon, remaining today. One of them is Mt. Sogok in Sacheon-city, Gyeongsangnam-do and the other is Mt. Beomnim in Seongju-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do. The academic sector argued about this matter as there cannot be two Gabong taesil for one king. I once argued that Taesil on Mt. Beomnim in Seongju is King Danjong's Gabong taesil and Danjong taesil in Sacheon is the one for Prince Inseongdaegun, the eldest son of King Yejong. At that time, however, I had not examined the archaeological relics found in these places. In result of making an archaeological approach, I have come to the following conclusions :1. King Danjong had two Taesil : Agi taesil(shrine for baby's umbilical cord) and Gabong taesil. The first Agi taesil was created on Taebong of Mt. Seonseok in Seongju on November 26, 1441, but was moved to Mt. Beomnim in Seongju in 1451 to form the second Agi taesil. In 1458, King Sejo eliminated his Taesil. The stone structures of Gabong taesil still remains on Taebong of Mt. Beomnim, so it has been assumed that King Danjong established them during his reign (1452-1455). 2. Taesil in Sacheon has been known as King Danjong's Taesil because of King Danjong's reinstatement during the reign of King Sukjong. His Taesil was repaired with the reinstatement and King Sukjong was mistaken that Taesil in Sacheon was King Danjong's Taesil to fix it. The time of restoration has been assumed to be soon after the restoration of King Danjong's tomb (1699-1719). Taesil is missing the book of records and rails around the stone structure because the tombs of reinstated kings were restored without rails. 3. It is incorrect that Taesil in Sacheon was known as King Danjong's Taesil, It has been concluded that this Taesil was for Prince Inseongdaegun who was born in 1462. I focused on the fact that Prince Inseongdaegun's Taesil was in Seosamneung Taesil instead of King Danjong's Taesil. When Yiwangjik stored King Danjong's Taesil in Seoul in 1928 and moved it to Seosamneung in 1930, he found that the epitaph on the tombstone recorded that it was Prince Inseongdaegun, not King Danjong, and created Prince Inseongdaegun's Taesil in Seosamneung. I referred to "Taebong", which was created when Seosamneung Taesil was built during the Japanese imperial rule over Joseon, and the relics found in Taesil in Sacheon and Seosamneung.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.208-227
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• 2013

Twenty-seven bronze bowls excavated from the Goryo burial complex at Deobu-gol were examined for their microstructure and chemical composition to characterize the bronze technology practiced by commoners at the time. Results showed that the objects examined can be classified into four groups: 1) objects forged out of Cu-near 22%Sn alloys and then quenched; 2) objects cast from Cu-below 10% Sn alloys containing lead; 3) objects cast from Cu-10%~20% Sn alloys containing lead and then quenched; 4) objects forged out of Cu-10~20% Sn alloys containing lead and then quenched. This study revealed that the fabrication technique as determined by alloy compositions plays an important role in bronze technology. The use of lead was clearly associated with the selection of quenching temperatures, the character of inclusions and the color characteristics of bronze surfaces. It was found that the objects containing lead were quenched at temperatures of $520^{\circ}{\sim}586^{\circ}C$ while those without lead were quenched at the range of $586^{\circ}{\sim}799^{\circ}C$. The presence of selenium in impurity inclusions was detected only in alloys containing lead, suggesting that the raw materials, Cu and Sn, used in making the lead-free alloys for the first group were carefully selected from those smelted using ores without lead contamination. Furthermore, the addition of lead was found to have significant effects on the color characteristics of the surface of bronze alloys when they are subjected to corrosion during interment. In leaded alloys, corrosion turns the surface light green or dark green while in unleaded alloys, corrosion turns the surface dark brown or black. It was found that in fabrication, the wall thickness of the bronze bowls varies depending on the application of quenching; most of the quenched objects have walls 1mm thick or below while those without quenching have walls 1mm thick or above. Fabrication techniques in bronze making usually reflect social environments of a community. It is likely that in the late Goryo period, experiencing lack of skilled bronze workers, the increased demand for bronze was met in two ways; by the use of chief lead instead of expensive tin and by the use of casting suitable for mass production. The above results show that the Goryo bronze workers tried to overcome such a resource-limited environment through technological innovations as apparent in the use of varying fabrication techniques for different alloys. Recently, numerous bronze objects are excavated and available for investigation. This study shows that with the use of proper analytical techniques they can serve as a valuable source of information required for the characterization of the associated technology as well as the social environment leading to the establishment of such technology.