Palmabi, Suncheon

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.2122

Category

Books & Records

Era

조선시대

Designated year

2021

Location

순천시, 전라남도— 전라남도 순천시 중앙로 95 (영동, 순천문화재단)

Coordinates

34.954370, 127.483788

This English description was machine-translated and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the original Korean text for details.

'Eight-Horse Monument of Suncheon' was erected after 1281 (King Chungryeol 7) in Seungpyeong Prefecture (present-day Suncheon) honoring the integrity of Choe Seok (崔碩), Seungpyeong Governor. Choe Seok's achievements and the townspeople's construction of the monument are documented in the 'History of Goryeo' biographies. According to records, Seungpyeong had a custom of presenting eight horses upon leadership transition; when Choe Seok received promotion to Mungwan official rank and departed for Gaeseong, he returned both the eight gifted horses and offspring born to his personal mount while stationed in Seungpyeong, eliminating the problematic horse-gifting custom upon departing officials. Subsequently, townspeople erected the Eight-Horse Monument commemorating Choe Seok's honorable legacy. The stone monument, initially erected in early-1300s before toppling and being restored, was completely destroyed during the 1597 (King Seonjo 30) Jeongyu Rebellion. However, in 1617, Yi Su-gwang, who assumed the governorship in 1616, re-erected it, with the 'Eight-Horse Monument' characters calligraphed by Jinsa Won Jin-hae and the reverse inscription composed by Yi Su-gwang with characters by Doksajsa Kim Hyeon-seong. The Suncheon Eight-Horse Monument maintains representative status for Suncheon from its establishment through reconstruction to modern times, possessing thirteen-century founding historical heritage with the 1617 Suncheon Governor Yi Su-gwang reconstruction monument surviving over four hundred years. Its continuous commemoration of Choe Seok as an exemplar of virtuous governance continues to the present, establishing sufficient historical, artistic, and scholarly value for Treasure designation. The stone monument features a rounded-top commemorative stone shape with approximately 160cm height, 76.0cm width, and 16.5cm thickness. The front surface features a rectangular inscribed area with semicircular upper borders containing three characters 'Eight-Horse Monument' in high relief, with individual character diameters of approximately 48.0cm. The monument base measures 140cm horizontally, 76.0cm vertically, 33.5cm in height, with monument openings of 70.0cm horizontally and 18.0cm vertically. The base upper surface features two-stage arc-shaped supports with approximately 2.5cm individual heights. Unlike standard Joseon monuments featuring roofstone, monument body, and base, this monument lacks the roofstone atop the body, while the base features lotus-pattern carvings typically seen in Buddhist relics, constituting a major characteristic.

Location