'Photo Record' Gyeongsang Gamyeong Seonhwadang Stone Statue Returns After 115 Years ... Daegu City Receives Donation

School Corporation Gunam Academy Chairman Lee Jae-myung's Possession... Multiple Stone Artifacts Found Mixed on Daegu Health High School Campus

A photograph taken in 1905 showing the arrangement of stone guardian statues in the courtyard of Seonhwadang.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Dong-wook] Daegu City announced on the 2nd that it received a donation of one Seokin statue from Seonhwadang at Gyeongsang Gamyeong, which had only been known through photographs, from Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the school corporation Gunam Academy.

The Seokin statue unveiled this time was kept along with several stone artifacts on the grounds of Daegu Health High School by Chairman Lee Jae-myung, who inherited the statue from his late father. During an expert on-site investigation in August following a related tip-off, it was confirmed to be identical to the Seokin statue in the photo of Seonhwadang at Gyeongsang Gamyeong, and Chairman Lee expressed his intention to donate it to Daegu City.

According to photographic materials of Seonhwadang at Gyeongsang Gamyeong around 1905, there were 6 to 7 Seokin statues lined up on each side of the front yard of Seonhwadang, and two statues facing each other in the center.

Until now, this is the first case since 2012, when five Seokin statues were excavated during the dismantling of the stone wall in front of Sebyeonggwan (guesthouse) at Tongyeong Samdosuguntongjeyeong, Historic Site No. 402, where such forms of Seokin statues were found at a government office site.

Earlier in July, during an excavation survey of the site around Gyeongsang Gamyeong (former Daegu Gyeongbuk Regional Military Manpower Administration), parts of the faces of Seokin statues that were arranged side by side in the yard of Seonhwadang were excavated. With this donation, it has become possible to confirm the actual Seokin statues created at the Gamyeong during the Joseon Dynasty, as seen in the photographs of Seonhwadang at Gyeongsang Gamyeong.

However, after more than 115 years, unlike the appearance in the photographic materials, the arms were damaged and lost, and the nose part of the face was further deteriorated. Considering the continuous cracking and weakening due to the characteristics of the statue’s rock, called 'Hamryeoksaam' (sandstone containing gravel), Daegu City plans to carry out preservation treatment in 2021.

Park Hee-jun, Director of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of Daegu City, said, "The Seokin statues in the front yard of Seonhwadang at Gyeongsang Gamyeong reveal the status and significance of Gyeongsang Gamyeong at that time, and they have great value as research materials related to government office events and ceremonies in the future." He added, "Before preservation treatment, the actual statues will be displayed first in the Modern History Museum exhibition room, and later they will be utilized as materials for academic exhibitions related to Gyeongsang Gamyeong."

Meanwhile, Gyeongsang Gamyeong was the provincial government office that governed Gyeongsang Province according to the eight-province system of local administration during the Joseon Dynasty. It functioned similarly to a provincial government office. Initially located in Gyeongju in the early Joseon period, it moved to Sangju, Dalseong County, Andong, and other places before settling in Daegu in the 34th year of King Seonjo’s reign (1601). Later, in the 33rd year of King Gojong’s reign (1896), with the Gabo Reform, local administration was reorganized into a thirteen-province system, and it served as the government office overseeing North Gyeongsang Province.

The appearance of Seonhwadang in 1905.

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