[Korea Route] Written by the Finest Calligrapher of Late Joseon: The Inheunggun Myogye Stele

One of Only Four Surviving Hangul Steles in Korea
Distinctive for Its Hangul Script and Unique Calligraphy

Inheunggun Myosan Stele (Pocheon City Local Monument No. 53). The inscription is carved on all four sides of the stele in various calligraphic styles.

[Asia Economy, Reporter Ra Youngcheol] Last month, the city of Pocheon in Gyeonggi Province held a Local Heritage Protection Committee meeting and designated the 'Inheunggun Myogye Stele', 'Tomb of Changju Lee Seonggil', and the 'Site of Pocheon Government Office' as local heritage sites.

Among them, the 'Inheunggun Myogye Stele' (Pocheon City Local Heritage No. 53), located at 540-3 Yangmun-ri, Yeongjung-myeon, Pocheon, was erected by Prince Nangseon Lee Woo in 1686 to mark the area as his father Inheunggun's burial site and to protect it from damage, according to historical records.

Inheunggun (1604-1651), a mid-Joseon Dynasty prince, was the 12th illegitimate son of King Seonjo. His given name was Yeong, his courtesy name was Gaon, and his pen names were Chwiun and Wolchang.

'Myogye' refers to the burial area designated according to official rank during the Joseon Dynasty. The Inheunggun Myogye Stele is located in a cultivated field about 250 meters south of the prince's tomb, near the entrance to the burial grounds.

The stele, exposed above ground, consists of a square granite pedestal (80cm × 80cm × 53cm), a marble main body (151cm × 40cm × 40cm), and a capstone shaped like a four-sided roof with a decorative orb at the top. All stone components except for the marble stele body are made of granite.

This stele is one of only four surviving Korean-language steles in the country, inscribed in the handwriting of Prince Nangseon, who was regarded as the finest calligrapher of the late Joseon period. The inscription is carved on all four sides of the stele in various calligraphic styles.

On the upper part of the north face, 'Daemyeong' (Great Ming) is written in ancient seal script. The lower part features a warning in archaic Korean: "This stele is extremely ... do not ... even in thought." On the south face, 'Joseon' is inscribed in the same style as the north, and the lower part specifies the year the stele was erected.

The east face, in the same script as the north and south, reads 'Tomb of the Royal Prince', while the west face records the location as 'Yeongpyeong, Yeongpyeong Jidong, Yangmun, Tapdong'.

What enhances the epigraphic value of this stele is the archaic Korean inscription in 20 characters over 5 lines: "This stele is extremely ... do not ... even in thought."

A Korean inscription stone erected at the entrance of Inheunggun's tomb

"This stele is extremely sacred, so do not approach it with arrogance or even entertain such thoughts." This is a warning inscribed on the stele.

According to the inscription on the lower part of the south face, the stele was erected in 1685 (the 12th year of King Sukjong's reign) by Prince Nangseon, Inheunggun's eldest son, to mark the burial site, and the inscription was written in his own hand.

The inscription, rendered in four different calligraphic styles, is highly valued as a historical, linguistic, and cultural resource due to its authorship by the renowned calligrapher Prince Nangseon, its use of archaic Korean, and its unique calligraphic features.

This year marks the 575th anniversary of King Sejong's creation of Hangul, intended to enable all people to read and write. Since King Sejong's promulgation of Hunminjeongeum in 1446, only four Hangul steles have been erected on Korean soil through the end of the Joseon Dynasty.

Including the single four-sided Hangul stone pagoda at Daiganin Temple in Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, there are only five Hangul steles created during the 500 years from the invention of Hangul to the end of the Joseon Dynasty.

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