Artifacts of the ‘Ihujung Family’ United with Ulsan Museum

Donation Ceremony of 1,661 Artifacts Including Joseon Dynasty Relics and Old Documents from the Hakseong Lee Family Collection
Featuring 'Baekpae' and Other Historical Texts

Seojeonggi, an artifact from the Hakseong Lee family, donated to Ulsan Museum.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Over 1,600 artifacts passed down through the Hakseong Lee family have become new members of the Ulsan Museum.

On the 20th at 2:30 PM, the Ulsan Museum will hold the ‘Lee Hujeong Family Artifact Donation Ceremony’ in the lobby on the first floor of the museum, with family representatives including Lee Jeung, the head of the Hakseong Lee family.

The Lee Hujeong family artifacts, donated on the 15th by Lee Jeung, former president of Ulsan MBC, consist of old books and historical documents totaling 1,661 items.

The representative artifact is the ‘Baekpae (White Plaque)’ issued to Lee Hujeong (Lee Dong-yeong), who passed the Saengwon-si (literary examination) in 3rd place, 37th overall, on February 11, 1666, the 5th year of Kangxi during the Joseon Dynasty under King Hyeonjong.

Lee Hujeong is the pen name of Lee Dong-yeong of the Hakseong Lee clan, born in 1635 during King Injo’s reign in Joseon, who died young in 1667, the year after passing the state examination.

This Baekpae is a passing certificate for the Joseon-era preliminary examination (Saengwon-si) and is significant as the first preliminary examination pass in Ulsan. It can be considered a representative artifact showing the Confucian culture of Ulsan centered on the Hakseong Lee clan.

Other artifacts include 75 old books such as the handwritten ‘Masacho’ of Lee Hujeong’s posthumous works, 17 official certificates (Gosin) of Lee Si-gang (Lee Dong-yeong’s son), and 15 official certificates of Lee Gwang-yeon (Lee Dong-yeong’s grandson), totaling 1,573 historical documents.

Also included are artifacts such as the identity tags (Hopae) and seals used by Lee Si-gang, and the Hopae used by Lee Gwang-yeon.

These donated documents and various artifacts are expected to be valuable materials for the Ulsan Museum in restoring the history of Ulsan during the Joseon Dynasty.

An official from the Ulsan Museum said, “The artifacts that have become new members of the museum are deeply related to Lee Hujeong, Ulsan’s Cultural Heritage Material No. 1, and the Hakseong Lee clan artifacts. They are precious materials that not only have research value but also convey the history of Ulsan during the Joseon Dynasty.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.