Study identifies ancient Goguryeo monument

A Chinese study has found that a rare stele from the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo was recently discovered in Jian, northeastern China. According to the study, the stele is known to be built during the reign of King Gwanggaeto (A.D. 374-413) and the earliest among three known Goguryeo monuments.

A report on the study, which was obtained by the Dong-A Ilbo Thursday through South Korea’s state-funded Northeast Asia History Foundation, says, King Gwanggaeto erected the stele at the tomb of his father, King Gogukyang (?-491). The stele predates the other two Goguryeo monuments -- the famous tombstone of King Gwanggaeto also unearthed in Jian in the 19th century and Goguryeo Stele of Chungju found in South Korea in the late 1970s.

According to the 214-page paper reported to the Chinese cultural heritage administration authority, 156 of a total of 218 Chinese characters inscribed on the stele were deciphered, being increased by 16 from the previous 140 characters. The epitaph is about the protection and maintenance of the royal tomb. The report contains information about the discovery of the stele, research process, interpretation of the epitaph, and high-resolution photographs of the inscribed characters.

Chinese scholars have based the timing of the stele’s erection on a sentence on King Gwanggaeto’s tombstone, which reads "The king built a stone monument at the tomb of the late king." Currently, scholars have different views about the interpretation of the “late king” – whether it meant the king’s grandfather or father or the entire royal ancestry. According to the report, the stele was built at the site of the house of the tomb’s caretaker, located 456 meters northwest of the tomb. The report viewed the stele’s discovery site, which has been changed into a river, as a residential site.

The report also contains controversial content such as the origin and founding of Goguryeo. The paper views an ancient Chinese ethnic group as the founder of Goguryeo and reiterates China’s claim that Goguryeo was under the rule of Han, an ancient Chinese empire.

mungchii@donga.com