Excavation 1,600 Pieces of Metal Movable Type in Pot from the Joseondynasty in Gongpyeong-dong, Seoul

- The Old Hanyang Center… Heap of Various Metal Artifacts includingAstronomical Clock from King Sejong era Excavated -

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With thepermission of the Cultural Heritage Administration (Administrator Kim Hyun-mo),the Sudo Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (Director Oh Gyeong-tyaek)conducted an archaeological expedition in ‘the site of zone 15 and 16 of theUrban Environmental Maintenance Project in Gongpyeong-dong, Seoul (‘나’ area)’. A wide variety of metalartifacts were exposed in the form of being buried together including about 1,600 pieces of metal movable typemanufactured in the early Joseon dynasty in a pot, Jujeon (engraved a visual scale to indicate the time on awater clock) made between the Sejong and Jungjong period, an Ilseongjeongsiui (日星定時儀_astronomical clock) produced during the Sejong era, 8 pieces ofSeungja-chongtong (銃筒_Seungja rifles) made between the Jungjongera and Seonjo era, and a bronze bell (銅鐘).

*The excavationsite: 79, Insa-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea

The mosteye-catching among the metal movable types to be unveiled this time is ‘the earliest Hangeul metalmovable type’that reflects the writing at the time ofthe creation of Hunminjeongeum. The metal movable types excavated en bloc areof great significance as they were the first excavation case in whichvarious movable types from the early Joseon era are unearthed in one place. Inparticular, it is the first case that theDonggukjeongun style orthography, which was only used in the 15th century whenHunminjeongeum was invented, is verified as genuine, and all of the Hangeulmetal movable types areexcavated invarious sizes. 

*Donggukjeongun (Dictionary of ProperKorean Pronunciation): the first Unseo about standard sounds in Korea publishedby Sin Sukju and Park Paengnyeon to correct sounds of Korean Chinese charactersunder King Sejong’s order, and record for transcribing sounds of Chinesecharacters using ㅭ,ㆆand ㅸ.

*Large and medium scale letters, smallscale letters for annotation, and tiny scale letters made up of Hangeul metalmovable type were confirmed.

Furthermore, about ten pieces of Yeonju metal movable typesarediscovered. The Yeonju metal movable type was served as a conjunction toconnect two sporadic letters by transcribing them in one type. It is an unprecedented achievement thatmany types believed to be ‘Gapinja’ (after the cyclical year designation for1434) from the Sejong era, which isearlier than the mechanical movable typeprinting invented by Gutenberg in Germany. Moreover, there is a possibilitythat various actual types, which were only found in printed versions from theearly Joseon dynasty, could be identified additionally. This is crucial data toexamine the actual aftermath of the invention of Hangeul and the printingactivities that might be conducted lively at that time.

* Yeonju metal movable type: it is typesin which Hangeul conjunctions (‘imyeo’ and ‘igo’) that frequently used betweenChinese characters are casts at once for convenience of printing.  

In a pot, copper artifacts areexcavated in the state of being cut into fragments. Those copper artifactsappear to be Jujeon (籌箭_engraveda visual scale to indicate the time on the water clock) of the automatic waterclock made between the Sejong and the Jungjong period along with metal movabletypes. Those copper artifacts are divided into copper plates and bead releasingdevices. The copper plates have several circular holes and an inscription‘Iljeon (一箭). The bead releasing device has a clasp and a ginkgo leaf-shaped hook onboth sides of the cylindrical copper artifact respectively. This form correspondsto the record of Jujeon, a device that stores and releases small beads tooperate the time signal device of a water clock in ‘Sejong Sillok (Records ofKing Sejong)’. It has significant meaning that the authentic Jujeon only handeddown in records is identified in reality. It is assumed to be Okru (a water clock) in Heumgyeonggak (apalatial residence), built in 1438 (the 20^threign of King Sejong),or Jagyeokru (clepsydra) in Borugak (the Observation facility), newly installedat the Changdeokgung palace in 1536 (the 31^streign of KingJungjong). 

*Water clock: there were twoautomatic water clocks in the Joseon dynasty; Jagyeokru in Borugak and Okru inHeumgyeonggak.

TheIlseongjeongsiui, an astronomical clock for the day and night, was discoverednext to the pot containing the movable type. It was used as a sundial duringthe day and was used to estimate time using constellations to compensate forthe disadvantage of not being able to use the sun at night. According to‘Sejong Sillok,’ it is recorded that King Sejong made four Ilseongjeongsiui in1437 (the 19th reign of King Sejong). The artifacts excavated this time are themain parts of an Ilseongjeongsiui, which seems three rings on the top of theclock wheel. It is crucial that it verifies the truth of the science andtechnology in the Sejong era, which had only been passed down through recordswithout any material evidence.

A total of eight Chongtong (smallfirearms) were collected; one of Seungja-chongtong and seven ofSoseungja-chongtong. As a result of the investigation, they were found in theupper part of a bronze bell, and it appears that the whole bodies of Chongtongwere intentionally broken and buried. The Chongtong is approximately 50-60cm inlength. According to the inscriptions engraved on the Chongtong, it is presumedto be Seungja-chongtong (1583) in the year of Gyemi (癸未) and Soseungja-chongton (1588) in theyear of Muja (戊子), Manryeok (萬曆). There are names of craftsman includingmaster Huison (希孫)and Maldong (末叱同). The name of master Huison is identifiedin the inscription of Chaseungja-chongtong, which is currently designated as anational treasure and a collection of the Seoul National University Museum.Seungja-chongtong with an inscription of the year of Muja (戊子), Manryeok (萬曆) has also been found in the MyeongryangSea area.

*Chongtong: a weapon with gunpowder andiron bullets loaded into the muzzle and ignited by hand

A bronze bellwasexcavated underneath of the Ilseongjeongsiui, broken into several small fragments.The form of bell is like a cannon ballturned upside down and has a yongnyu (龍鈕) in the shape oftwo dragons. The style of the bronze bell is similar to the one in the style of royal origins in the 15^thcenturyin the Joseon dynasty. In the upper part of the bronze bell, there is aninscription ‘嘉靖十四年乙未四月日’ in clerical style, indicating that it was produced in April 1535 (the 30^threignof King Jungjong). However, there are some differences from the bronze bellof the royal origins as they usually used regular script style. The bronze belldiscovered this time is similar in style to thebronze bell, the former YujeomsaBuddhist Temple (a collection of the Chuncheon National Museum) dating from1469 and thebronze bell of Haeinsa Buddhist Temple (designated as a treasure)dating from 1491. 

* yongnyu (龍鈕): thedragon-shaped handle

*Clerical script (隸書): it is an archaic style of Chinesecalligraphy used since the Han dynasty in China. The style of the characterstends to be square.

*Regular script (楷書): it appeared next to seal script andclerical script styles in the history of calligraphy. It is not cursive, ratherit is a square modern script.

The research area is located northwest ofthe present-day Jongro 2-ga intersection, which was the center of Hanyang, thecapital of Joseon. Until the early Joseon dynasty, it belonged toGyeonbpyeongbang, the central part of Hanseongbu. Moreover, government officesUigeumbu (義禁府) and Jeonuigam (典醫監), as well as places Sunhwagung (順和宮) and Jukdonggung, (竹洞宮) were located in the vicinity of thearea. Unjongga (雲從街), where thecommercial facility ofSijeonhaengrang was located, was in the south. 

*Gyeonbpyeongbang: one of the eight central bang (administrative districts) of Hanseongbuand an economic and cultural center in the capital city with a complex ofpalace-related facilities and commercial facilities

* Jeonuigam (典醫監): a government office in charge of medicaladministration and medical education established in 1392, the year of thefoundation of the Joseon dynasty

* Sunhwagung (順和宮): the palace said to have been built for Princess Sunhwaof King Jungjong in the Joseon dynasty

* Jukdonggung (竹洞宮): the palace said to have been built for Princess Myeongonof King Sunjo in the Joseon dynasty

A total of six cultural layers (second toseventh floors) were identified from the early Joseon era to the modern era atthe site. The layerunearthed metal artifacts, including themetal movable type, correspond to the sixth floor (center of the 16th century),three meters below the current surface. In this layer, various buildingstructuresas well as fragments of porcelain and broken roof tiles wereidentified. These materials can be datedto the early Joseon dynasty.

By taking a look at the state of artifacts collected,it is assumed that some of them, except for the metal movable types, weredeliberately broken into fragments of appropriate size and then put into thepot and buried together. Although the metal movabletypes are mostly intact, some of them appeared to be melted in the fire andstuck together. The date of use and disposal are presumed to be around 1588.This is supported by the presence of Soseungja-chongtong, which has a calendricdate of Muja (戊子), Manryeok (萬曆). These artifactshave buried there up until they were discovered a few weeks ago.

The excavatedartifacts have been transferredto the National Palace Museum of Korea for safestorage after completing the first clean-up. In the future, if research iscarried out through conservation treatment and analysis in each field, it isexpected that it will be of great help in understanding the science andtechnology of the early Joseon dynasty and further the year of King Sejong.  

For further details,please do contact to the Sudo Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (DirectorOh Gyeongtaek, phone number 02-304-6512)