Yangju City Successfully Concludes Daemosanseong Academic Seminar 'From Ancient Maeseong to Modern Yangju II'

by Lee jonggu

Published 03 Dec.2024 14:00(KST)

Gyeonggi Yangju City (Mayor Kang Su-hyun) and the Korean Ancient Studies Association (President Baek Jong-oh) jointly hosted the Yangju Daemosanseong Academic Seminar "From the Ancient Maeseong to Modern Yangju II," which was successfully concluded on the 29th of last month at the Yangju Hoeamsaji Museum, the city announced on the 3rd.

Participants of the Yangju Daemosanseong Academic Seminar "From Ancient Maeseong to Modern Yangju II," jointly hosted by Yangju City and the Korean Ancient Studies Association, are taking a commemorative photo after the seminar. Provided by Yangju City

In particular, the seminar was held amid heightened academic interest following reports on the 28th that four wooden tablets, presumed to be from the Taebong period like last year, were excavated from Yangju Daemosanseong. About 100 participants, including academic experts and Yangju citizens, attended, demonstrating strong interest in Yangju's cultural heritage.

This academic seminar was planned under the title "From the Ancient Maeseong to Modern Yangju II," in the same context as last year's 20th anniversary academic symposium of the city's elevation, "From the Ancient Maeseong to Modern Yangju." As with last year's symposium, the Korean Ancient Studies Association, an academic organization founded in 1990 that comprehensively researches the culture and history of ancient Korea, participated to enhance the seminar's prestige.

The event, held from 1 p.m. on the 29th, began with an opening address by Baek Jong-oh, president of the Korean Ancient Studies Association, and a welcome speech by Kang Su-hyun, mayor of Yangju. It started with a keynote lecture by Professor Baek Jong-oh on "The Function and Symbolism of Water Storage Structures in Ancient Korean Mountain Fortresses, Wooden Tablets, and Power," followed by thematic presentations in the order of ▲The Past, Present, and Future of Yangju Daemosanseong (Chae Gyu-cheol, Yangju City Hall) ▲Newly Excavated Wooden Tablets from Yangju Daemosanseong in 2024 (Kim Byung-jo, Giho Cultural Heritage Research Institute) ▲Yangju in Ancient Korea: Transportation and Defense (Jung Dong-min, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies) ▲Yangju in the Later Three Kingdoms Period: Faith and Wooden Tablets (Lee Joon-sung, Kyungpook National University) ▲Mountain Fortress Rituals in the Han River Basin and Yangju Daemosanseong: Rituals and Contributions (Hwang Bo-kyung, Sejong University). After the presentations, a comprehensive discussion was held under the chairmanship of Professor Emeritus Jung Woon-yong of Korea University, involving presenters and discussants.

This academic seminar focused primarily on the historical significance of the "Taebong Wooden Tablets," the first Taebong artifacts excavated domestically during the 13th excavation of Yangju Daemosanseong last year. It also attracted attention by publicly revealing for the first time the excavation circumstances of four wooden tablets unearthed during this year's 14th excavation.

Meanwhile, Yangju City has been conducting annual excavations of Yangju Daemosanseong since 2018 to establish its status as a historical and cultural city and the main city of northern Gyeonggi Province. To reexamine the excavation achievements, the city held academic symposiums and seminars with the Korean Ancient Studies Association last year and this year.

Kang Su-hyun, mayor of Yangju, stated, "The Yangju Daemosanseong academic seminar is an opportunity to reexamine the excavation achievements of the Yangju Daemosanseong site conducted by Yangju City so far. We will strive to take a step forward as a historical and cultural city through this opportunity."