Gaya Royal City Gimhae, Installation of Garakgukgi Symbolic Sculpture at National Gimhae Museum and Gaya Theme Park

Garakgukgi sculpture installed in front of the National Gimhae Museum in Gimhae-si, Gyeongnam. [Image source=Gimhae-si]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] On the 12th, Gimhae City in Gyeongnam announced that it has installed the ‘Garakgukgi Symbolic Sculpture’ in front of the National Gimhae Museum and Gimhae Gaya Theme Park.

Last year, the city selected the basic text and installation locations for the sculpture based on citizens’ opinions at the ‘Gimhae-style Citizen Policy Council,’ and after deliberation, completed the installation on the 10th.

The sculpture is engraved on stone with the original text and a Korean summary of ‘The Birth of King Suro and the Founding of Gaya’ and ‘The Marriage Story of King Suro and Queen Heo,’ and was produced in two forms. It visualizes the image of the nest and egg from the founding myth of Garakguk’s progenitor. Calligraphers Byeokam Heo Han-ju and Hanme Jo Hyun-pan participated in engraving the text on the sculpture, enhancing the work’s completeness.

The sculpture, which cost about 200 million KRW to produce, was created and installed by BNK Gyeongnam Bank as part of its social contribution project and donated to the city.

A Gimhae city official said, “Through the installation of the Garakgukgi symbolic sculpture at major tourist sites in the area, we aim to enhance the city image of Gimhae, the birthplace of Garakguk, and hope that this sculpture will become a new educational site and landmark representing Gaya history.”

Meanwhile, the ‘Garakgukgi (駕洛國記)’ is the only existing historical record narrating Gaya history. Although the author’s name and the complete content have not been preserved, its content is summarized in the second volume of the ‘Samguk Yusa’ by Ilyeon.

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