Introducing the cultural assets of Ansan, Korea - 김동은(Micha)

 

 Hello, everyone! I’m Kim DongEun(김동은), aka Micha, from Korea. I’m going to introduce Ansan’s cultural assets! I looked up cultural assets of Ansan, and there were more valuable cultural assests in Ansan than I thought. Now, I’ll show you some of them.

 Before introducing the assets, there is one important person we have to know. It’s Seongho Yi Ik (성호 이익). His name is Yi Ik, and his pseudonym is Seongho. Pseudonym, which is a pen name, is a name given so that it can be called comfortably, other than the original name.

 He is a silhak scholar of the late Joseon(조선) Dynasty. Silhak(실학) is a practical study that is useful in real life. Silhak was the society’s new ideological flow in the late Joseon, and Yi Ik is the one who made the foundation for this study. Living in Ansan, he knew the importance and nobility of the agriculture, so he did farm work all his life. He insisted the citizens’ safety and social reform through the silhak, and it led to social and political prosperity. He wrote some famous books such as “성호사설(Seongho editorial)”, “곽우록”, “이자수어”.

 I went to the Seongho Museum in Ansan for reasearch! There were a lot of cultural heritages. There were Yi Ik’s books, writings, and some other cultural assets.

 The first asset to introduce is the Lee Ha-jin’s handwriting “Cheongeummuljeon”(이하진 필적 “천금물전()”). It is Lee Ha-jin’s handwritten book, consisting of 10 books. Lee Ha-jin is a Mushin(문신)(a kind of Joseon civil servant who passed the liberal arts test) in the mid-Joseon Period and was good at poetry and writing. He was the father of Seongho Yi Ik. The meaning of 천금물전 is, “Do not give this to another person even if the person gives you thousand gold.” and another meaning is “Do not leave your child a lot of money, leave erudition and virtue.” In this book, there’s description of his favorite things, and some poems, and handwritings. This is the only national treasure in Ansan, and was displayed in the museum.

 Second one is, the Okdonggum(옥동금). which is a geomungo, a traditional Korean musical instrument. This was made by a geomungo artisan when Okdong Iseo acquired a Mountain Kumgang’s paulownia tree that was struck by lightning. On the back, the poem he wrote is written. Okdong Iseo played this instrument.

  Third, there’s a Lee Sangui portrait(이상의 영정). It is a portrait of Lee Sangui, who contributed to escorting Gwanghaegun(Joseon’s 15th king) during the Japanese Invasion of Korea(임진왜란). He is Seongho Yi Ik’s great grandfather. This portrait has high historicity and scarcity value.

 

 Jinju Yu family(진주 유씨 가문) is a Ansan’s representative family name. They have history and tradition in Ansan, and they were the motivity for Ansan to become cultural art’s centre. They are related to Yi Ik.

 Bugyepalgyeongdo(부계팔경도) is a folding screen made by Jinju Yu family’s Mosan Yu Wonseong. A whole drawing of eight famous spots in Bugye Valley (in Ansan) is drawn. Bugyejeondo(부계전도) is a whole map of Bugye, Ansan, which Yu Wonseong made. Both are also cultural assets.

  There were many other historical and cultural things in the museum.

 And near the Museum was the Seongho Yi Ik’s grave.

Now, let's go somewhere different.

 

 Next, I went to a historical site, which is also a cultural asset. The first place was Byeolmang Fortress Site(별망성지). It was built of rocks in the early Joseon to defend the west coast from the Japanese. It was 1040m in circumference and 1.2-2.1m in height, but it most of it was destroyed during the Korean War, so it was reconsturcted in 1988. Now it is 225m in length and 1.45m in height. It was a important fortress for protecting the west coast. The name ‘Byeolmang(별망) has a lot of different stories. 

I walk along the remaining fortress. It was very nice, I could feel the nature and it wasn’t high.

 Lastly, I went to the Sasechungnyeolmun(사세충렬문). This gate was given by the governement to honor the patriotic devotion of Kim Yeomul, who died during the Japanese Invation of Korea, and to honor the women of Kim Yeomul’s family who sacrificed themselves to keep the chaste women’s spirit when the Qing army invaded during the Manchu War in 1636.

It was quite beautiful and graceful.

 Beside the gate, there was Kim Yeomul’s grave.

 I went to quite a lot places and saw many valuage cutural and historical things. It was very beautiful and grand, and I was proud. Searching and studying about these made me think more about our traditional cultures are our history. It was a very fun and informative activity, and I hope more and more Korean and foreign people will become interested in Korean culture. I wish my posting helps others to know Ansan’s cultural assets. Good-bye!!