Conservation process of 'gakjaseongseok' to be completed by 2025

▲ This photo, provided by Seoul city, shows "Gakjaseongseok" of the Fortress wall of Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

 

 

SEOUL, June 13 (Yonhap) -- Throughout the Joseon Dynasty, there were stones called "gakjaseongseok," where details including the name and title of the person who was in charge of the construction of the fortress built 600 years ago was engraved.

During the Joseon Dynasty, if the wall collapsed or had a problem, the person in charge of the construction, thus the person who's name is engraved in the stone was held responsible. In "The Veritable Records of King Sejong," there is a record of having the person in charge rebuild the wall when the wall collapsed.

This is one of the reason why "gakjaseongseok," are evaluated as relics that show the existence of the "construction real-name system" during the Joseon Dynasty.

Seoul city announced on the 13th that it plans to complete a condition check on the gakjaseongseok of the Fortress Wall of Seoul till next year and carry out the conservation treatment accordingly.

A total of 297 gakjaseongseok have been discovered so far.

Since 2016, the city has identified the degree of damage to each gakjaseongseok through on-site verification and non-destructive analysis, and has been conserving it according to the degree of damage. Till date, 284 out of 297 gakjaseongseok condition check has been completed, and 105 (35.3%) gakjaseongseoks have been preserved. It plans to complete the conservation of the remaining 192 gakjaseongseoks until 2025.

Additionally, Seoul city has built a 3D precise scan data on 213 gakjaseongseoks and is using it for digital stone rubbing, research on each characters, and for the production of the information board.

Next year, the city plans to conduct a research to discover additional gakjaseongseoks in 9 years after 2014.

"Gakjaseongseok is a historical document that holds the records of the Fortress wall of Seoul and also holds great value as it shows the dedication of those who participated in the construction of the fortress," said Joo Young-tae, head of Seoul's cultural department. "We will continue to manage and conserve gakjaseongseok systematically in the future."

 

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Haemin Kim.)

 

 

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