단종국장재현

■ Installation of the Crown Prince

King Sejong had pains in his eyes and legs for no apparent reason because of reading many books at a young age and caught up in state affairs. In May 1445, King Sejong made the Crown Prince Munjong govern all affairs, excluding the big ones. In 1448, when Danjong turned the age of 8, he was proclaimed as the eldest son of the Crown Prince.
King Sejong carried around the young descendent he cherished dearly for a long time in the palace, and he earnestly pleaded to the young scholars of the Hall of Worthies by saying, “You should protect this child even after I died.”

■ Enthronement

In May 1452, the young crown prince at the age of 12 ascended to the throne as the 6th king of Joseon Dynasty. According to the will of king Munjong, Bo In Hwang was appointed as the prime minister of the Joseon Dynasty and Jong Seo Kim as the second vice-premier, with the scholars of the Hall of Worthies helping out. King Munjong was aware of the fact that his brother Prince Suyang was ambitious to seize royal authority and delegated absolute authority to Ujeongbu, or the State Council of Joseon, in order to protect the young crown prince.

■ Gyeyujeongnan Revolts

On October 10, 1453 (the 1st year of the reign of King Danjong), Prince Suyang made Ram Kwon and Myeong Hoi Han protect the Hanyang castle gate, while also personally visited the second vice-premier Jong Seo Kim’s house who had full authority of state affairs, including direct military diplomacy, so that a warrior killed him with an iron mace by luring him outside. Also, he arrived at the king’s residence to threaten the young king and killed all of those protecting King Danjong with an iron mace one by one from Uijeongbu and the Royal Court to the palace. Also, the close associates of King Danjong was either killed or condemned to exile, including Prince Anpyeong who was exiled to Ganghwado where he died.

■ King Danjong’s Abdication

Prince Suyang who obtained all power stopped contests that discussed about studies and politics to put a distance between King Danjong and politics. Also, the last associates of King Danjong, including Prince Geumseong and many other relatives, were either killed in a guilty crime, or sent into exile, by Prince Suyang. As a result, King Danjong was left alone and unaided without getting anyone’s help.
In the end, on June 11, 1455, only 3 years and 2 months after being in the reign, King Danjong handed over the royal seal to Prince Suyang underneath the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion after being surrounded and threatened by his associates, including Myeong Hoe Han and Ram Kwon. The abdicated king stepped back and went to Changdeokgung Palace. Prince Suyang ascended the throne as the 7th king of the Joseon Dynasty at Geunjeongjeon.

■ Degradation and Exiled to Yeongwol

Prince Suyang who became King Sejo and his associates who helped in usurpation were anxious and nervous about the movement to restore the abdicated king by the six martyred ministers. When they heard of the news about the abdicated king being reinstated in Ming Dynasty, they decided to kill King Danjong.
In the end, King Sejo degraded King Danjong to Prince Nosan and sent him into exile to Yeongwol, Gangwondo with 50 military officials and the Fifth Minister at the Office of Ministers-without-Portfolio (Cheomjijungchubusa) escorting him.
During this time, King Danjong and Queen Jeongsun had their farewell on the Yeongdo Bridge of Cheonggyecheon. The name Yeongdo Bridge was given to mean a bridge with a point of no return later on.
After leaving Hanyang, King Danjong arrived at Cheongryeongpo of Yeongwol in 28th to pass through Yeoju, Wonju and Jecheon in only 7 days. The hardship that the 17-year-old dethroned king had to endure in the steamy heat at the end of June was a great deal.
In addition, when he finally arrived at Cheongryeongpo, it was a place of exile without any well and three sides surrounded by river and the south blocked with a cliff. This place still remains the young dethroned king’s joys and sorrows, including the Gwaneum Pine Tree of 600 years old that has seen King Danjong’s life of exile and heard his sobs, the Tower of Nostalgia made up of stones that King Danjong stacked while longing for Queen Jeongsun, and the Nosandae, or a rock on the cliff, where King Danjong missed Hanyang with the palace.
After two months in Cheongryeongpo, he moved to Gwanpungheon, or a hotel in Yeongwol Government Office when the area got submerged under water by a big flood.

■ Prince Geumseong and the Movement to Restore King Danjong [Jeongchukjibyeon]

In July 1457 (the 3rd year of the reign of King Sejo), two months after King Danjong has come to Yeongwol in exile, Prince Geumseong who was also sent into exile in Sunheung, Gyeongsangdo set up plans with Sunheungbusa Bo Heum Lee to restore King Danjong who was there together in Yeongwol.
However, Prince Geumseong’s plans ended in failure due to a man slave in government employ and he ended up in jail.
At the time, King Sejo wiped out the people in Sunheung where the restoration movement mainly took place. The massacre left not a single person living within 30 li and the blood that flowed finally stopped when after passing through Jukgye Valley to arrive at the neighboring village, which is still called by people as the Blood End Village.

■ King Danjong’s Death

In October of the same year when Prince Geumseong’s plans to restore King Danjong was found out, King Sejo ordered the Geumbudosa Bang Yeon Wang to bring the poison as a death penalty to Yeongwol.
When King Danjong asked Bang Yeon Wang the reason for visiting him, he hesitated and could not answer. This was when a person who aided King Danjong strangled and killed the 17-year-old King Danjong with an arrow string out of the greed to receive a big prize from King Sejo.
The aides and maids who were sad from King Danjong’s death threw themselves into Donggang River of Yeongwol and their corpses piled up in the river. Also, the sky was filled with thunder and lightning with endless rain and wind lasting all night long.
King Danjong passed away under a false charge, but the people were afraid of King Sejo’s revenge and could not hold a funeral. The Yeongwol Hojang Heung Do Um brought the lacquered coffin he had prepared for his mother and took King Danjong’s body and looked for a place at the foot of the mountain near Yeongwol where he could hold a funeral. However, since it was midwinter in October, the ground was frozen and covered with snow so that he could not find an appropriate place. Then, he saw a roe deer springing out of the forest and found a spot in the sunny place where the deer had sat with the snow melted. He buried King Danjong there and hurriedly left the place with the family.

■ Searching for the Forgotten Grave Again

King Danjong’s grave, which was forgotten after Heung Do Um left, was revisited by King Jungjong in 1516 (the 11th year of the reign of King Jungjong) based on the village people’s testimonies to perform the first memorial service. However, the memorial service was not performed for a long time since then, and there was a strange happening of governors who come to Yeongwol being killed one after the other.
Then, in 1541 (the 36th year of the reign of King Jungjong), Chung Heon Park who came as the Yeongwol Governor visited King Danjong’s grave and reorganized the burial mound. According to stories told, one day Chung Heon Park had a dream and met King Danjong. After paying respect to him, he listened to the king’s complaint of injustice and performed a memorial service earnestly. Since then, the odd happening no longer occurred.
Also, in 1581 (the 14th year of the reign of King Seonjo), the Gangwondo Gwanchalsa Cheol Chung requested for a tombstone to be established and asked for repair of the grave because the road to the grave had gotten so old and ruined over the years, as well as tidied up the grave by piling up soil over the burial mound.

■ King Danjong’s Restoration

After entering into the late Joseon Dynasty and during the reign of King Hyojong and King Hyeonjong, it was reevaluated that Prince Nosan was not a tyrant like Prince Yeonsan and the six martyred ministers’ loyalty was highly praised. In 1681 (the 7th year of the reign of King Sukjong) the name was changed to the Great Prince Nosan. In the end, in only 246 years after King Danjong’s undeserved death in 1698 (the 24th year of the reign of King Sukjong), King Sukjong once again elevated the Great Prince Nosan as the burial chamber was called Danjong. This referred to paying respect and upholding justice. Also, the royal tomb name was Jangneung.
In addition, the restoration works of King Danjong was completed by putting the ancestral tablets of King Danjong and Queen Jeongsun next to King Munjong and Queen Hyeondeok at Yeongnyeongjeon of Jongmyo Shrine.

■ Creation of Jangneung

Together with the restoration of King Danjong, his grave was also newly created as a royal tomb. However, unlike the general royal tomb, the stone figures placed before the tomb followed the Hureung Royal Tomb of King Jeongjong, and embroidery followed the Gyeongneung Royal Tomb of Deokjong. The stone figures of Hureung was one of the most humble ones among the royal tomb stone figures used for King Sukjong and King Yeongjo, which was the recommended royal tomb following the formal customs in terms of royal tombs. The stone figures placed in front of Prince Gyeongneung was also created very simple and humbly.

■ The Gods of Heaven at Taebaeksan Mountain “King Danjong Grants People’s Wishes”

The dead King Danjong’s spirit tried to live in Eorayeon Valley with beautiful landscape in Yeongwol like a Taoist hermit with miraculous powers, but that did not come true. Since big and small fishes in Eorayeon Valley kept saying that King Danjong has to become the god of Taebaeksan Mountain. There is a legend that King Danjong’s spirit came to the mountain to become the god of Taebaeksan Mountain.
Ik Han Chu who was at the Chungjeolsa Temple was heading to give Korean wild grapes and Siberian gooseberry for King Danjong when he met him riding on a white horse along the Yeongwol town. King Danjong told him, “I am heading to Taebaeksan Mountain”. This was right after he had heard the fishes in Eorayeon Valley telling him to become the god of Taebaeksan Mountain instead of becoming a Taoist hermit.
This legend later developed into a folk religion for the residents of Yeongwol. It is said that King Danjong’s spirit rode on a white horse and went up the Taebaeksan Mountain. There are shrines dedicated to the mountain god nearby where the ancestral tablet and portrait of King Danjong are kept.
Like this, King Danjong will remain the hearts of the people after his death.

■ King Danjong’s Dream and Revival

The Danjong Culture Festival is Yeongwol County’s representative local traditional festival that elevated paying tribute to the spirit of King Danjong and his loyal subjects into a festival.
For 270 years after 1698 (the 24th year of the reign of King Sukjong), it had been a sacrificial rite, but it got expanded into the Danjong Festival in 1967. Starting from the 24th festival held in 1990, it changed its name into the Danjong Culture Festival to the present.
In particular, starting from 2007, which was the 550th death anniversary of King Danjong, the King Danjong’s State Funeral Parade Reenactment took place based on thorough historical researches since he was the only king of the Joseon Dynasty to not have a state funeral. It has now developed further to become Yeongwol’s unique cultural content.