Seonjoeoseosa Songeonsin Milchalcheop

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.941-1

Category

Books & Records

Era

조선시대

Designated year

1987

Location

용인시, 경기도— 경기도 용인시 기흥구 상갈로 6 (상갈동, 경기도박물관)

Coordinates

37.268330, 127.108756

This collection of writings contains seven letters King Seonjo (r. 1567-1608) wrote to Song Eon-sin (1542-1612), one of his most favored ministers. Song passed the state examination in 1577 and had since then had a successful career in the government, serving as the chief of all the six ministries excepting the Minister of Finance. He later turned into an aggressive opponent against Buddhism, even calling for the exhibition of an eminent monk named Bou (1509-1565) for his role in the effort to revive Buddhism. The album of handwritings features a book form made by binding multiple sheets of paper cut from a long narrow scroll and putting covers. King Jeongjo (1776-1800) came across the album, and wrote his own comments on the seven royal letters in it. He then sent the original album back to the minister’s descendants after making a copy, which is this album, to be kept in the government. In the letters collected in this album, King Seonjo, who was then seeking refuge in the northwestern border area, asked the minister to find and protect three of his children who were missing amid the turbulence of the war caused by the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592. One of the letters shows that the king sent a gift to the minister for his role in locating the royal offspring. The album is 24.2 centimeters wide and 36.6 centimeters long. The postscript written by King Jeongjo is arranged in 59 lines on ten pages with six lines on each page. Another valuable item included in the album, an official certificate issued by the Ministry of Rite in 1585, reveals that King Seonjo officially approved the minister’s request to adopt a son from one of his distant relatives. The writings collected in this album contain information about King Seonjo’s capability to control provincial officials even when his dynasty was at the brink of collapse and valuable clues about the defense, communication between the ruler and his officials, family system, and the genealogy of the Song Eon-sin’s family.

Location