Politics561–568

King Jinheung’s Border Steles

King Jinheung toured his new lands and raised steles at Bukhansan, Changnyeong, Hwangchoryeong and Maunryeong.

Inscription on the Bukhansan Stele of King Jinheung — National Museum of Korea
Ethan Doyle White · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

Sunsu steles were raised by the king as he toured newly won lands. Changnyeong (561) faces Gaya, Bukhansan the lower Han, and Hwangchoryeong and Maunryeong (568) mark the advance into Hamgyeong; on the last two the king calls himself zhen, the imperial "We".

Long thought to be a monument to the monk Muhak, the Bukhansan stele was identified by Kim Jeong-hui in 1816 and recorded in his Geumseok gwaan-rok; it is now in the National Museum of Korea. Some classify the Changnyeong stele as a frontier-expansion stele rather than a touring stele.

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The map in AD 561

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States and rulers at the time: Silla — King Jinheung
Places: Site of the Bukhansan Stele of King Jinheung

People

King JinheungAD 534 – AD 576
monarch · Twenty-fourth king of Silla, who took the Han River basin and Daegaya, raised border steles and organized the hwarang
Kim Jeong-hui (Chusa)1786 – 1856
related figure · Epigrapher and calligrapher who created the Chusa style, identified the Bukhansan stele as King Jinheung’s, and painted Sehando in exile on Jeju

Before and after

Earlier: AD 554 Battle of Gwansan Fortress
Later: AD 562 Fall of Daegaya

Themes that include this event

Seoul18 BC – 1988
From Hanseong Baekje to the June Democratic Struggle — the Han River land every kingdom fought for, and Joseon’s capital for five centuries