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Hyeonpung Gwak Monument - (1598 onward, restored 1963)

During the Joseon dynasty, Confucianism was the fundamental code of conduct for people from all walks of life. In particular, the families of the yanban gentry class were rewarded for their conformity to Confucian manners and customs as specified in the book Samgang Oryun ("Three Fundamental Priciples and Five Relationships"). The book elaborates on the most desirable human relations between soverign and subjects, parents and chidlren, husbands and wives, elders and youth, and between friends. In order to promote Confucianism and encourage good deeds, the government rewarded people who behaved in accordance with the Samgang Oryun by putting up a red gate, called a Jeongmun, or a monument known as a Jeongnyeo-gak in front of their home or at the entrance of their village.

This Jeongnyeo-gak is a structure protecting the collection of 12 Jeongnyeo tablets that were awarded to the Hyeonpung lineage of the Gwak Clan living in Solye-chon from 1598 through the mid 18th-century. Though the building was damaged during the Korean war with one of the pavilions completely destroyed, repair work in 1963 restored them to their original form.

A signpost erected on the site by the Korean Office of Cultural Properties notes that "The fact that as many as 12 Jeongnyeo tablets were awarded to the Gwak family from one village is surely something for them to be proud of".

Address:

(Designated City Cultural Property Material #29).