Cultural heritage in Goyang
five-thousand years history
Current story of Goyang
- Cultural heritage in Goyang
- five-thousand years history
- Current story of Goyang
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Story of Goyang history
2017-08-28
The Story of the only Ming Court Lady, Gurjeo (Gur Family) of Korea
In the Daeja-ri village of Gwansan-dong, Deogyang-gu of Goyang city remains the one and only tomb of a Ming court lady, Lady Gur.
Her name was Gurjeo. She became a court lady of the Ming Empire when she was little and became a court lady of the Qing Empires when Ming collapsed. Then she began to serve Prince Sohyun (First son of King Injo) who went to Qing as a hostage.
When Prince Sohyun returns to Joseon, four court ladies come to Hanyang with him. After three months of return, the prince meets a mysterious death and s buried in Seosamneung of Goyang.
When Prince Sohyun passes away, the four court ladies are the return to Qing, but Gur refused and remained in Joseon.
Known as a great beauty, a mandolin player, loyal servant who protected the descendants of Prince Sohyun, an animal lover who has cultivated birds and animals in an unusual way, a diplomat who mediated diplomatic friction with Qing, a translator with China, and the spreader of new hair beauty methods for women are the major facts about Gur.
After becoming a female monk, she passed away at the age of 70. Her dying wish was, “I want to see King Hyojong conquering Qing when he leads his 10 thousand army into the north. So bury me on the way to China”.
The last part left in the poem for Gur writes, “A beautiful woman has died and is buried underground, but her mandolin playing remains as a sweet scent in the gravesite.”
For this reason, her tomb remains in Daeja cave that connects Gwansan-dong, Goyang to China.
Last weekend, I visited the tomb of Gur with 40 people and I am introducing her story as a part of the Goyang Story.
Management Department Information
