Part of Michael’s job description includes running checks-and-balances on all the ammunition the US has stock piled here. This entails him driving from ASP (ammunition supply point) to ASP on a weekly basis to ensure everything is where it should be. In doing so this week, he decided to stop at a national park for lunch…and boy did he hit the jackpot on national parks! I’m soooo bummed we weren’t with him, and have made him swear up and down, left and right that we will go back to this park as a family. He stumbled upon the burial grounds/hall of King Sejong The Great!
King Sejong the Great is regarded as the most enlightened king in Korean history. King Sejong was born in 1397, and ascended the throne in 1418 at the age of 21. He was the fourth king of the Choson dynasty. He died in 1450 at the age of 54.
During his 32-year reign, King Sejong energetically promoted learning. He was responsible for the creation of the Korean Hangul alphabet, and this scientific alphabet is his most known achievement. This alphabet enabled literacy to become more available to the general population, who could not be expected to master the classical Chinese language that was the official written language of Korea at the time.
-Alain Burrese
I have been so jealous of his little “adventure off the beaten path,” that I wasn’t even going to share Michael’s pictures with y’all. But since I think this is sooo exciting, and since he did promise to take the kids and I there next weekend, I’ll stop being selfish, and share all these neat pictures, and some links to more background information about King Sejong. Think of it as a little Korean history lesson!
King Sejong lives on today on the 10,000 won bill. His image graces the front of the bill, along with all the symbols of the early Hangeul alphabet, which he is credited with creating. The picture to the right is one Michael took of a painting in the burial hall, on the left is the obverse of the 10,000 won bill. I certainly hope it’s not some sort of a crime to scan currency!
On the reverse of the 10,000 won bill is the Honcheoneui, a celestial globe invented by astronomer, Song Yi-young, in 1669. It’s an astronomical clock, and at its center is a globe that moves through two pendulums that help it rotate once a day. The astronomical device fused Eastern astronomy and Western mechanics and has been designated National Treasure No.230. The Honcheoneui is located at King Sejong’s burial grounds. On the left is a picture Michael took; on the right is the backside of the 10,000 won.
Remember the burial mounds I was describing last week when our neighbor buried their loved one? Well, King Sejong’s mound is a very good example of that. Of course, most burial mounds are not this large and elaborate, or even this well manicured, but it does give you the general idea.
Here's some great links for more information regarding King Sejong The Great. It's all very interesting stuff, so I hope you'll take the time to read a bit about him.
http://korea.assembly.go.kr/history_html/history_07/jos_E_02.jsp
http://www.burrese.com/Personal_Security_&_Self_Defense/Articles/KoreaHeraldA...
http://members.aol.com/ABurrese/kingsejong.html
Some additional monuments on King Sejong’s burial grounds. In the upper left corner is a rain gage, albeit, a pretty fancy rain gage. In the upper right corner is a sundial. Below is an astronomical globe. I wanted to include these pictures…they looked pretty interesting!
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