Poseokjeong
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The Poseokjeong () site near
Namsan Namsan () is a peak in Jung District, Seoul, South Korea. It was also known as Mongmyeoksan () in the past. It offers some hiking, picnic areas and views of downtown Seoul's skyline. The N Seoul Tower is located at the summit of Namsan. The ...
in
Gyeongju Gyeongju (, ), historically known as Seorabeol (, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering with a population of ...
, South Korea, was built in the
Unified Silla Unified Silla, or Late Silla, is the name often applied to the historical period of the Korean kingdom of Silla after its conquest of Goguryeo in 668 AD, which marked the end of the Three Kingdoms period. In the 7th century, a Silla–Tang alli ...
period. The site once featured a royal pavilion which was said to have been the most beautiful royal villa of the time. Today, the only surviving remnant of the pavilion is a granite water feature. It was designated a Historic Site of South Korea in 1963.


Description

The water feature consists of several hand-carved stone pieces. These pieces create a smoothed shape that slopes slightly, which allows for the flow of water. During banquets in the last days of the
Unified Silla Unified Silla, or Late Silla, is the name often applied to the historical period of the Korean kingdom of Silla after its conquest of Goguryeo in 668 AD, which marked the end of the Three Kingdoms period. In the 7th century, a Silla–Tang alli ...
kingdom, the king's official and noble guests would engage in winding stream parties. These involved sitting along the watercourse, chatting, reciting poetry and engaging in drinking games. In one particular game, one of the guests would enunciate a line of poetry, challenge one of the other guests to compose an appropriate second line while the first floated a cup of wine in the water. Should the cup of wine reach the guest before he submitted a suitable verse, he would consume the entire cup of wine. He would then try to compose the poetry before receiving a glass again— should he fail again, he would continue repeating the process until a verse was produced. Due to the variety of curves in the channel, the speed at which the wine cups transversed the course would vary based on the shape of the cup, rate of the water flow and amount of wine in the cup. The site has an area of 7,432 m2/4.6 mi2. There are no records of when Poseokjeong was built, but the stone channel is known to have been created in the time of
Unified Silla Unified Silla, or Late Silla, is the name often applied to the historical period of the Korean kingdom of Silla after its conquest of Goguryeo in 668 AD, which marked the end of the Three Kingdoms period. In the 7th century, a Silla–Tang alli ...
. It was designated as historic site No.1 in 1963. Poseokjeong is named after the abalone-shaped water feature. The feature itself is about 10.3 m/11.2 yd in length and 5 m/5.4 yd in width, and consists of 63 blocks of granite. These blocks are on average 26 cm/10.2 in deep and 35 cm/13.8 in wide.
Zelkova ''Zelkova'' (from the Georgian language, Georgian ''dzelkva'', 'stone pillar') is a genus of six species of deciduous trees in the elm family Ulmaceae, native to southern Europe, and southwest and eastern Asia. They vary in size from shrubs (''Ze ...
,
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...
and
bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...
trees preserve a calm atmosphere at Poseokjeong today, but the garden was tended differently at the time. Some of the trees are several hundred years old. When in use, the watercourse was thought to have used water from the nearby stream in the Namsan valley. The water of the Namsan valley was appreciated by the Silla people for its purity and cleanliness. A stone statue of a turtle once spewed water into the channel, but this feature is no longer present. A legend is linked to Poseokjeong. According to this legend, the spirit of Namsan attended a party of king Heong-gang Wang. The king danced after the god, which according to the legend started a Silla dance known as (King Dances, God Dances). King
Gyeongae of Silla Gyeongae (died 927), personal name Pak Wi-ŭng, was the 55th ruler of the Korean kingdom of Silla. Biography He was the son of King Sindeok by Queen Uiseong, and was the younger brother of King Gyeongmyeong, who preceded him to the thron ...
(r. 924-927) was killed at Poseokjeong, while indulging in his pleasures here, by King
Kyŏn Hwŏn Kyŏn Hwŏn (; 867 – 27 September 936, ruled from 892 – March 935) was the king and founder of Later Baekje, one of the Later Three Kingdoms of Korea, and reigned from 892 to 935. Some records render his name as Chin Hwŏn (). He was also t ...
of
Later Baekje Later Baekje (, ) was one of the Later Three Kingdoms of Korea, along with Taebong and Silla. Later Baekje was a Korean dynastic kingdom founded by the disaffected Silla general Kyŏn Hwŏn in 900, whom led the local gentry and populace tha ...
.
Il-yeon Il-yeon (; 1206–1289), also spelled Iryeon, was a Korean Buddhist monk and All-Enlightened National Preceptor () during the Goryeo Dynasty of Korea. His birth name was either Kim Gyeong-myeong () or Jeon Gyeon-myeong (), and his courtesy name w ...
: ''Samguk Yusa: Legends and History of the Three Kingdoms of Ancient Korea'', translated by Tae-Hung Ha and Grafton K. Mintz. Book Two, page 113 and also 127f. Silk Pagoda (2006). For that reason Poseokjeong stands symbolically for the demise of the Silla kingdom.


Gallery

File:Korea-Gyeongju-Poseokjeong site 3833-06.JPG File:Korea-Gyeongju-Poseokjeong site 3834-06.JPG


See also

*
Tourism in Gyeongju Tourism in Gyeongju is a major industry and defining feature of Gyeongju, South Korea. Gyeongju is a major cultural site and tourist destination for South Koreans and foreigners with about 8 to 9 million visitors annually. A great deal of this is d ...
*
Culture of Korea The traditional culture of Korea is the shared cultural and historical heritage of Korea before the division of Korea in 1945. Since the mid-20th century, Korea has been split between the North Korean and South Korean sovereign state, stat ...
*
Korean architecture Korean architecture () refers to an architectural style that developed over centuries in Korea. Throughout the history of Korea, various kingdoms and royal dynasties have developed a unique style of architecture with influences from Korean Buddh ...


References


External links


Cyber Tour Into Cultural Property - Poseokjeong Pavilion Site
{{Authority control Archaeological sites in South Korea Buildings and structures of Silla Former buildings and structures in Gyeongju Historic Sites of South Korea Gyeongju Historic Areas Namsan (Gyeongju)