Search for the old days of the great families in Gyeonggi
(Published March 21, 2013)

Gyeonggi Provincial Museum exhibits a special exhibition of donated relics ‘Root of the Millennium, Yongin Lee families’

◇ Picture by the 19th century‘ artist Lee Jae-gwan about his ancestor General Jangyanggong Lee Il, who made a contribution in suppressing Jurchen tribe in the 16th century. ⓒ G-News Plus
 
Gyeonggi Provincial Museum, a representative museum of Gyeonggi Province, holds <Special Exhibition of Relic Donations from the Great Families of Gyeonggi ; Root of the Millennium, Yongin Lee Families> as the first special exhibition of 2013 from March 27 to June 16. This is a start line for the search for the roots of Gyeonggi Province, commemorating ‘a millennium year of the name, Gyeonggi’ of 2014.
 
There are great families whose ancestors originated in and the descendants still remain in Suwon, Gwangju, Juksan, and Yangju of Gyeonggi Province. Likewise, Yongin also has such great families including the Yongin Lee families, who have succeeded the traditions for over a thousand years from the early Koryo period.
 
The Yongin Lee families originated from Lee Gil-gwon, who contributed to founding the Koryo Dynasty by supporting the first king Wang Geon, and it includes many ministers, officials, and Gyeonggi governors in the Joseon Dynasty. In particular, by producing many Gyeonggi governors, the families have represented the history and traditions of Gyeonggi Province.

This exhibition has been prepared as the descendants of the Yongin Lee families donated 875 pieces of the precious relics in 2009 and 2011 to Gyeonggi Provincial Museum. The donators include Lee Tae-han, the eldest grandson of the head family of Pangwangong, Busagong-line, Yongin Lee families, and his brothers Lee Kyung-han and Lee Bong-han, and Lee Hong-kyu, the eldest grandson of the head family of the society of Choongjunggong-line.
 
The donations include portraits, old documents, painting and calligraphic works, and folk artifacts such as the portrait of Lee Se-beak(in official uniform), that of Lee Ui-hyun(in regular clothes), and a copy of Lee Don-sang’s portrait. In addition, 106 sheets of official certificates including those for Loyal Official(Lee Se-beak), brassware for ancestral rites, Pae-oks, and A-yams donated to the museum, are valuable items through which we can look into the history and cultures of Kyunghwa-sajok, i.e. Sadaebu engaged in their works in Gyeonggi Province of the late Joseon Dynasty.
 
Various experience programs, as well as the exhibition, are prepared so that visitors can enjoy the exhibition with fun which might appear difficult. Free programs during the exhibition include ‘Making Official Certificate with My Name’ where visitors can make the official certificate granted by the king by themselves, ‘Puzzle Game’ arranging the picture of suppression strategy map against Jurchen Tribe by General Lee Il, ‘Photo Zone with the Premier of the Joseon Dynasty’, and ‘Seunggyungdo Playing’. In addition, 3 times of the parent educating program ‘Curator Mom’ are prepared for family.
 
In particular, the museum will hold an academic lecture on April 23 at 2 p.m., titled ‘Consideration of Kyunghwa-sajok of Gyeonggi Province in the Joseon Dynasty’ by Professor Lee Won-myung(Department of History of Seoul Women’s University). Through this, visitors are expected to look into the detailed lives of Kyunghwa-sajok who engaged in their works largely in Gyeonggi Province.
 
<Special Exhibition of Relic Donations from the Great Families of Gyeonggi ; Root of the Millennium, Yongin Lee Families> is the course of finding the roots of a millennium of Gyeonggi Province. The upcoming exhibition will give an opportunity to look into the cultures of Sadaebu in the Joseon Dynasty, one of the representative cultural codes in the province, and also to feel pride about the region. Moreover, the donations touch our hearts amid a rarity of donations.
 

◇ The official certificate of Lee Don-sang(1815-1884) as the judge of Jong-5th-class won Gap and the second place in Jeunggwang Byeolsi Moongwa test in the first year of King Gojong’s reign(1864) ⓒ G-News Plus
 
ⓒ G-News Plus News | Park Gwan-sik malbut@kg21.net
 
http://gnews.gg.go.kr/news/news_detail.asp?number=201303211700337055C048&s_code=C048