The Veil Lifts on Early Joseon Metal Movable Type Excavated in Insadong

National Palace Museum to Exhibit Artifacts Excavated from Insadong Starting the 3rd
304 Pieces of Gapin, Eulhae, Eulyu Movable Type... Also Day and Night Use Clocks

Metal movable type from the Joseon Dynasty excavated in Insadong, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Metal artifacts from the Joseon Dynasty excavated in Insadong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, will be open to the public about five months after their discovery. The National Palace Museum announced on the 2nd that from the 3rd to December 31st, all 1,755 artifacts, including metal movable type printed in the Donggukjeongun (東國正韻) style excavated last June, will be exhibited in Planning Exhibition Room II. Donggukjeongun is Korea's first standard phonetic document, compiled under King Sejong's order by Shin Sukju, Park Paengnyeon, and others to correct the pronunciation of Chinese characters in Joseon. Characters such as 'ㅭ', 'ㆆ', and 'ㅸ' were recorded to represent Chinese character sounds.

Eulhaeja Movable Type

The exhibition is divided into two parts. 'Early Joseon Metal Movable Type Revealed by the Insadong Excavation' displays over 1,300 pieces of metal movable type and the containers that held them. This includes 304 types whose casting periods are identified, such as Gapin (48 pieces), Eulhae (42 pieces), and Eulyu (214 pieces). Gapinja refers to metal movable type made based on characters from 'Hyosunsasil (孝順事實)' presented at the royal lecture in the 16th year of King Sejong's reign (1434). Missing characters were supplemented with ones modeled by Prince Suyang (King Sejo). Eulhae type was cast from calligraphy by Kang Heean in the first year of King Sejo's reign (1455). Eulyu type was made based on calligraphy by Jeong Nanjong in the 11th year of King Sejo's reign (1465). Among the Gapin types, the characters ‘火 (hwa)’ and ‘陰 (eum)’ can be seen in the concurrently exhibited 'Geunsarok (近思錄)'. Eulhae types include characters stamped in 'Neung-eomgyeong', and Eulyu types in 'Wongakgyeong'. A museum official said, "For effective viewing, magnifying glasses and portable computers with photos are placed throughout the exhibition."

Ilseong Jeongsi's

'Ilseongjeongsui and Early Joseon Astronomy' introduces artifacts representing early Joseon science and technology. The centerpiece is the Ilseongjeongsui (日星定時儀), a day-and-night combined clock first made in the 19th year of King Sejong's reign (1437). It improved the functions of the armillary sphere and gnomon imported from China while reducing their size. A museum official explained, "It is a device that measures time by the sun's shadow during the day and by stars at night," adding, "This is the first time the actual artifact has been excavated." "Among the three rings, only part of one was found, but fortunately, the overall form can be inferred." Its usage can be guessed from the 'Soilyeong (小日影)' displayed alongside it. This sundial consists of a round ring engraved with scales, a stand, and a stone base. The museum official said, "This is the first time all components are exhibited together." Another must-see item is the 'Iljeon (一箭)', a component of the automatic water clock. It is a part that releases beads to operate a doll that indicates the time. The operating principle and more can be seen in a video presentation.

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