Pungsan Hong Clan's 'Gisagyecheop' Designated as National Treasure

Five Paintings Bestowed to Painter Hong Man-jo, Entering Sukjong's Girosa
"Depicting Historical Facts with High Mastery Representing Royal Court Paintings"

Gisa Gyecheop - Gyeonghyeondang Seokyeondo

The 18th-century court painting album "Gisagyecheop," owned by the Pungsan Hong clan, has been designated as a National Treasure.

On the 22nd, the Cultural Heritage Administration announced that it registered "Gisagyecheop and Box (Gisa Gyetap mit Ham, 耆社契帖 및 函)," created to commemorate King Sukjong's entry into the Giroso (耆老所) in 1719 following the precedent set by King Taejo Yi Seong-gye, as National Treasure No. 334. The Giroso was an institution that honored senior civil officials aged seventy or older holding positions of Jeong 2-pum (second senior rank) or higher. King Sukjong entered at the age of fifty-nine, following King Taejo's precedent of entering at sixty. The "Gyecheop" refers to a painting album created by officials who formed a group during the event. Usually, the number of albums produced corresponded to the number of participants and were distributed accordingly.

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"Gisagyecheop" was produced as twelve albums in total: eleven albums to be distributed to the Gisin (耆臣, senior civil officials of Jeong 2-pum rank or higher affiliated with the Giroso) and one album to be kept at the Giroso. To date, five such albums have been confirmed. The "Gisagyecheop" held by the National Museum of Korea was designated as National Treasure No. 325 last year. The album designated this time was bestowed upon Hong Man-jo (1645?1725), one of the Gisin, and has been passed down through generations of the Pungsan Hong clan. It consists of a preface written by Left Chamchan Im Bang (任?, 1640?1724), one of the Gisin; a royal poem composed by King Sukjong at the Gyeonghye-gung Gyeonghyeondang (景賢堂) banquet; a postscript by Chief Scholar Kim Yu (金?, 1653?1719); a list of participants; record paintings depicting the event; a list of eleven Gisin members with half-length portraits; congratulatory poems written by the Gisin; and a list of the officials who produced the album.

Portrait of Hong Man-jong

The album contains five event paintings: Eocheopbongando (御帖奉安圖), depicting the procession from Heungjeongdang at Gyeonghye-gung to the Giroso to enshrine the royal album; Sungjeongjeonjinhajeondo (崇政殿進賀箋圖), showing the Gisin offering congratulations at Sungjeongjeon Hall the following day; Gyeonghyeondangseokyeondo (景賢堂錫宴圖), illustrating the banquet King Sukjong held for the Gisin at Gyeonghyeondang; Bongbaegwisaedo (奉盃歸社圖), portraying the procession of the Gisin returning to the Giroso carrying silver cups bestowed at the banquet; and Gisasa-yeondo (耆社私宴圖), showing the Gisin holding a private banquet at the Giroso.

Hwacheop, Naeham, Hogap, Oegwe

Although all were created over 300 years ago, they remain almost undamaged thanks to a triple-layered protective system consisting of an inner box (na-ham, 內函), a protective case (hogap, 護匣), and an outer cabinet (oegwe, 外櫃). The album was placed inside the inner box, which was then enclosed by the protective case, and finally stored in the outer cabinet. The Cultural Heritage Administration stated, "This is an important basis for restoring the appearance of items bestowed by the Joseon royal family to private households." They explained, "It contains the historical fact of King Sukjong's entry into the Giroso, with a clear production date and creator, and features the Gisin's own handwriting and paintings that represent the highest level of court painting quality and artistic standards, making it fully worthy of designation and preservation as a National Treasure."

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