Seoul Dongdaemun ( Heunginjimun ) is not just a simple building . There is a story that Dongdaemun tilted whenever there was a big event in the country . Unlike today, when it was strengthened through several repairs in the late Joseon Dynasty , Dongdaemun was originally a wooden gate . Perhaps because of this characteristic , Dongdaemun’s tilt was considered a symbol reflecting the history of Joseon .
|
[ Korean Today ] Old stories related to Dongdaemun – King Danjong and Dongdaemun ( Image provided by : Dongdaemun-gu Office ) ⓒ Reporter Park Chan- du |
The southeast slope of Danjong and Dongdaemun
This was after King Danjong was exiled to Cheongnyeongpo in Yeongwol, Gangwon-do by Grand Prince Suyang .
It is said that at that time, Lady Song, who was King Danjong’s wife, was unable to follow the king and was driven out of the palace. She was left alone in the Jeongeopwon hermitage outside Dongdaemun, and shed tears every morning and night as she missed her husband, King Danjong, who was far away in Yeongwol, Gangwon-do .
When this unfortunate situation became known to the people living near Jeongeopwon , the kind-hearted women living outside Dongdaemun could not stay still . They rushed to help Song, the daughter of King Danjong, who lived in Jeongeopwon .
However, the poor common people could only give Danjongbi a chicken they raised at home , a handful of rice or barley, or some vegetables from the garden near their house .
Then one day , the court lady who had gone out was out of breath and said to Lady Song, the wife of King Danjong .
“ Mom , something truly strange has happened .”
“ What a strange thing ?”
“ … … ”
“ Tell me quickly . Didn’t you say something strange happened ?”
“ Well, they say Dongdaemun is tilted to one side .”
The court lady barely managed to tell Song while watching her expression .
“ No , what ? Did you say Dongdaemun is tilted ?”
“ Yes , Mom .”
The moment she heard those words, Lady Song Danjong felt goosebumps .
I have often heard that if Dongdaemun tilts, the country will be in trouble .
“ What kind of mutation are you trying to make ?”
Mr. Song couldn’t help but sigh . But at the same time, he was overcome with anxiety that something might happen to his husband, King Danjong .
“ Which way is Dongdaemun leaning ?”
Mr. Song asked the court lady .
“ Mom … … . Coincidentally, it’s in the southeast .”
“ No , what ? Did you say southeast ?”
“ That is so .”
“ If it’s the southeast ? Isn’t the southeast the area of Yeongwol in Gangwon-do where His Majesty the King is ?”
For Song, who had been unable to relax due to disturbed sleep over the past few days, this could not help but be a great worry .
When Lady Song, the queen consort of King Danjong, heard the words of the court lady that Dongdaemun was tilted to the southeast, she lost her mind at that moment .
A few days later, Danjong was given poison .
|
|
Dongdaemun , facing northwest during the reign of King Gwanghaegun
Dongdaemun also tilted during the Injo Restoration .
After King Danjong was poisoned and died in Yeongwol, his place of exile, Dongdaemun began to decline again in the final years of King Gwanghaegun’s reign, about 100 years later .
This time, unlike during the reign of King Danjong, Dongdaemun was tilted toward the northwest instead of the southeast .
The rumor that Dongdaemun was leaning became the talk of the town , and the people, who were already in turmoil due to Gwanghaegun’s tyranny, spread this rumor throughout the country like pouring oil on a burning fire .
“ They say that if Dongdaemun tilts, a national crisis will come. So, the country will soon be in trouble .”
“ Which way is Dongdaemun leaning this time ?”
“ It tilted north, right ?”
“ Are the northern barbarians invading ?”
People gathered in groups of three or four to spread rumors and talk . Naturally, public sentiment was bound to be unsettled .
At that time, Lee I-cheom, a traitor who had committed all sorts of atrocities alongside King Gwanghae, released his soldiers to catch and severely punish those who were spreading rumors that Dongdaemun was falling .
However, it seems that the rumor that Dongdaemun was leaning did not disappear .
Eventually, in the same year that Dongdaemun was tilted to the northwest, the rebel army supporting King Injo raised an army in Hongjewon, northwest of Hanyang, and expelled the traitor Yi I-cheom and Gwanghaegun from the palace .
It was also a huge event that could be called a national crisis , and it remained a symbol that heralded the great transformation of Joseon .
|
[ Korean Today ] Old stories related to Dongdaemun – Im-o Rebellion and Dongdaemun ( Image provided by : Dongdaemun-gu Office ) ⓒ Reporter Park Chan-du |
The Im-o Incident and Dongdaemun at the end of the Joseon Dynasty
Even at the end of the Joseon Dynasty, when Joseon changed its name to the Korean Empire, Dongdaemun was tilted toward the southeast .
At that time, King Gojong was pursuing an open-door policy by signing the Ganghwa Treaty with Japan, despite the opposition of Prince Daewongun, who insisted on a policy of national isolation .
“ How could our ancestors not be angry when the Japanese trample on our land as they please ?”
“ But Prince Daewongun did a good job in politics . Why would Dongdaemun, which was fine back then, be falling apart now ?”
“ Isn’t this a warning to the Min clan because they are ruining the country ?”
Once again, public sentiment began to turn negative .
In June of the 19th year of King Gojong’s reign (1882) , the Imo Incident finally occurred .
The Min regime, which was maintained by the Min clan including Empress Myeongseong, eliminated the old-style army and organized a new-style army called the Byeolgi Army as part of its reform policy . It was a military system modeled after the Japanese army .
The old-fashioned army in Seoul at that time was actually made up of the urban lower classes , that is, people engaged in small business, small handicrafts , laborers , and farmers, rather than soldiers, and they were poor people who served while having side jobs to support their families .
As the new army was launched, the soldiers in the old-style barracks began to complain . The soldiers in the new-style barracks, the special forces, were treated well in many ways, including with weapons and clothing, and their salaries were paid regularly without delay , but the soldiers in the old-style barracks kept losing their jobs and not receiving their salaries for several months .
Even before the Im-o Incident, unrest and rebellion were already running high among the old soldiers , and there were two incidents of preparation for mutiny in 1881 , the year before the Incident .
In an attempt to cover this up, the government paid one month ‘s worth of the soldiers’ overdue wages in the form of rice in June 1882 , but this aroused anger because the rice the soldiers received was mixed with bran and sand .
Finally, on June 9 , the soldiers seized the armory and rose up .
|
[ Korean Today ] Seon Hye-jeong’s site ( Photo courtesy of Namuwiki ) ⓒ Reporter Park Chan-du |
The soldiers who had caused the uprising attacked and burned down Seonhye-cheong, set fire to Min Gyeom-ho’s house , attacked Byeolgi-gun, killed the Japanese instructor, and closed down the Japanese embassy .
The next day, they stormed into Changdeokgung Palace and killed high-ranking officials from the Min clan, including Prince Heungin Lee Choi-eung, the older brother of Prince Daewongun .
|
[ Korean Today ] Situation map of the Im-o Incident ( Photo provided by Namuwiki ) ⓒ Reporter Park Chan-doo |
At that time, Empress Myeongseong Minbi disguised herself to escape the military turmoil and escaped from Changdeokgung Palace via Dongdaemun to Janghowon . Coincidentally, Janghowon was located in the southeastern direction of Seoul, where Dongdaemun was leaning .
Dongdaemun, which had tilted whenever there was a major event in the country, has since been restored to its current appearance, and still stands guard over the eastern side of the capital city of Seoul .
The tilt of Dongdaemun throughout history was not simply a structural problem, but symbolized the fate of the country and the turmoil of the people . Dongdaemun acted as a mirror of the people’s minds in every historical event, such as the tragedy of Danjong , the Injo Restoration , and the Im-o Incident . No one knows whether Dongdaemun will tilt again in the future . However, the influence of that tilt on history still stimulates interesting imagination .
( Data provided by : Namuwiki, Dongdaemun-gu Office Culture and Tourism Division Culture and Arts Team )
|
|
© The Korean Today – All Rights Reserved