• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.28-40
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• 2004

The purpose of this study is to identify the characteristics of monuments in the Seoul Foreigners′ cemetery at Yanghwajin, a place where many prominent Christian missionaries and other Christians have been buried near Choltusan. In considering the characteristics of gravestone details, the researcher has divided the details into 4 analysis categories: forms, symbols, epitaphs, and materials. For this research, 281 monuments were selected including 68 of missionaries, 26 of U. S. Army Soldiers, and 13 of teachers. The analysis revealed that there were 26 types of monuments. This includes simple and standardized types like the tablet, headstone, marker, and monolith. These were used more often than other shaped types such as the Cross, obelisk, sculpture, etc. Standardized types made in Korea have been preferred after the 1950s even though the beauty of the gravestones has been degraded. Symbolical decorations related to religious, social, professional or military emblems were also introduced to strengthen their symbolical objectives. Among them, fie Cross was the most predominant Christian symbol and emblem. The families wanted to inscribe epitaphs, the greater part of which originated from the Bible, poems, idioms related to tribute, rest, supplications to deity, love, achievement, to express human sentiment and religious faith. When using materials for making monuments, monument makers have mostly used stone because of its durability. Until the 1950s, various stones had been used to make monuments, for most marble and granite were brought from foreign countries. These were very different from the Korean white marble stone used for many monuments. After the 1950s, the source of stone has been limited to Korean stone, for Korean could make stone monuments that foreigners were agreeable. Especially, a black marble stone called "O-Suk" which means black stone, has been used as a main material. The study identified the following characteristics of monument details in the Seoul foreigners′ cemetery at Yanghwajin. First, Christianity has been applied as the main concept, while symbolizing the homogeneity of religious, family, social, professional or military groups by having the symbolic form, symbol, and epitaph in common. Second, monuments made after the 1950s have been standardized into unattractive and monotonous forms by the limited materials, and so the beauty of the monuments has been degraded.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.4-19
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• 2012

There remain many royal tombs of the Goryeo Dynasty in Gaeseong and Ganghwa. During the Goryeo Dynasty, these royal tombs were taken over tradition of tomb construction style from previous generation, and they completed their own inventive style. Furthermore they handed down those style to the Joseon Dynasty. The area of tomb was divided into 3 or 4 steps, and stone figures and T-shaped houses for sacrifice were arranged on each steps. It was the stone chamber of lateral opening style which had an entrance to southward, and it was formed as a rectangular box-shaped with a pile of stone walls and a flat ceiling. There was a coffin stand in the middle of floor, and traditional bricks were around them. The wall side and ceiling had been whitewashed and painted pictures. These are general characteristics for the tomb construction style of the Goryeo Dynasty. By the way, we can notice a number of features except those general things with inspection in detail. In early days, we confirmed 1step-parallel fulcrum ceiling, coffin stand of all in one stone, bier of burial artifact, and mural of plant material as a set, but they were changed as flat ceiling, Red-stone wall with rectangular stone, coffin stand set as stone pillar through the period of transitional form as of in the late 12th century. In case of several royal tombs, the fragments of king's epitaph which were confirmed from tombs could be defined owners clearly, and there were considerable timing difference between the large numbers of celadons which were excavated with the fragments of king's epitaph and recording chronologically of stone chamber structure. The reason for timing difference is that posterity artifacts were buried through repairing courses by occasion of destruction caused by robbing of the royal tombs. Meanwhile I inferred the existing hypothesis about owners of royal tombs and autonym ones in comparison the burial spot direction of hypothesis ones and outcomes of excavation. Therethrough, some hypothesis about owners of royal tombs such as Myung-neung which was assumed as tomb of the King Choongmok were not correct.

• Bangmulgwan gwa yeongu (The National Museum of Korea Journal)
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• v.1
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• pp.74-95
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• 2024

A vast body of inscribed bricks has been found connected to the mid-fourth-century Tomb of Jang Mui in Bongsan-gun, Hwanghae-do Province. After several inspections of the bricks conducted at the National Museum of Korea in 2023, these inscribed bricks were grouped into ten types. This paper interprets in detail the phrases written on these bricks from the Tomb of Jang Mui in an attempt to understand their characteristics and intentions. This detailed interpretation facilitates a rough understanding of how each phrase relates to the others and in what order the phrases would make full sentences. In terms of their contents, these inscribed bricks are presumed to have been produced to convey information about the construction of the tomb to viewers on the outside. In particular, they relate that a narrator referred to as a Jubu official named Jo was involved in the construction of the Tomb of Jang Mui. They can be compared to the inscribed bricks created in China during the Western Jin and Eastern Jin Dynasties that were produced not by family members of the tomb occupants, but by figures who participated in the construction of the tombs based on political and social connections to their occupants. During the mid-fourth century, funeral practices in the former lands of the Nangnang and Daebang Commanderies followed Chinese traditions with the permission of Goguryeo Kingdom. Many of the artifacts found inside these Chinese-style tombs and introduced to the public, including the murals, ink inscriptions, and inscribed bricks, are related to the desire of the family members of the tomb occupants to strengthen their bonds and to share emotions and goals with settler groups. The contents of the inscribed bricks discovered from the Tomb of Jang Mui can be observed in this context.

• 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.

• MISULJARYO - National Museum of Korea Art Journal
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• v.104
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• pp.70-100
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• 2023

The celadon made in the Goryeo era, a time when Buddhism was flourishing in Korea, naturally contains many elements of Buddhist culture. Among them, inlaid celadon with Sanskrit inscriptions bears a close relationship with esoteric Buddhism. However, the research on deciphering the Sanskrit inscriptions has made little progress due to the small number of extant examples. However, the four recent excavations at the No. 23 kiln site in Sadang-ri, Gangjin have yielded new materials that allow the existing materials to be categorized into several types. The results obtained through the reading and interpretation of the inscriptions are as follows: First, the Sanskrit characters inlaid on the celadon were parts of mantras. Inscriptions where only one character is apparent cannot be deciphered, but scholars have revealed that others are written in the manner of a wheel mantra represent the "Mantra for Purifying the Dharma-Realm," "Six-Syllable Mantra of the Vidyaraja," "Sweet Dew Mantra," "Jewel Pavilion Mantra," "Mantra of the Savior Bodhisattva," "Dharani of the Mind of the Budha of Infinite Life," and "Mantra for Extinguishing Evil Rebirth." Each mantra was written in Siddham script. Second, they are believed to have been produced during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries based on the arrangement of the inscriptions and the way the "Sweet Dew Mantra" is included in the "40 Hands Mantra." In particular, the celadon pieces with a mantra inlaid in a concentric manner are dated to the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries based on their production characteristics. Third, the interpretation of the inlaid mantras suggests that they all refer to the "Shattering Hell" and "Rebirth in the Pure Land." Based on this, it can be concluded that some of these inlaid celadon wares with mantras may have been used in Buddhist rituals for the dead, such as the ritual for feeding hungry ghosts (施餓鬼會). Also, because the Sadang-ri No. 23 kiln site and the "ga" area of the site are believed to have produced royal celadon, it is likely that these rituals were performed at the royal court or a temple under its influence. Fourth, this inlaid Goryeo celadon with Sanskrit mantras was not a direct influence of the ceramics of Yuan China. It emerged by adopting Yuan Chinese Buddhist culture, which was influenced by Tibetan Buddhism, into Goryeo Korea's existing esoteric practices. Fifth, the celadon wares inlaid with a Sanskrit mantra reveal a facet of the personal esoteric rituals that prevailed in late Goryeo society. Changes in esotericism triggered by the desire for relief from anxieties can be exemplified in epitaph tablets and coffins that express a shared desire for escaping hell and being born again in paradise. Sixth, the inlaid celadon with Sanskrit mantras shares some common features with other crafts. The similarities include the use of Siddham Sanskrit, the focus on Six-Syllable Mantra of the Vidyaraja, the correspondence with the contents of the mantras found on Buddhist bells, wooden coffins, and memorial tablets, and their arraignment in a similar manner with rooftiles. The major difference between them is that the Mantra for Extinguishing Evil Rebirth and the Sweet Dew Manta have not yet been found on other craftworks. I believe that the inscriptions of Sanskrit mantras are found mainly on inlaid celadon vessels due to their relatively low production cost and efficiency.