Epitaph tablet of Korean minister's wife returned to her descendants

Home > Culture > Korean Heritage

Epitaph tablet of Korean minister's wife returned to her descendants

Published: 01 Nov. 2023, 09:36

YIM SEUNG-HYE
[email protected]

Mark Peterson, professor emeritus of Korean, Asian and Near Eastern languages at Brigham Young University, delivers a speech about the "White Porcelain Epitaph Plaque with Cobalt-blue Underglaze Calligraphy for Madam Jo" at the Old Korean Legation on Nov. 17, 2022. [CULTURAL HERITAGE ADMINISTRATION]

A cheonghwa baekja (cobalt blue and white porcelain) epitaph tablet, which belonged to the wife of Park Chung-yang (1841-1905), the first Korean minister who was dispatched to the United States in 1887, returned to Korea to the arms of its descendants.

The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) and the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation announced Tuesday that the family of the late minister Park received the "White Porcelain Epitaph Plaque with Cobalt-blue Underglaze Calligraphy for Madam Jo," created in 1892, as a gift from Mark Peterson, professor emeritus of Korean, Asian and Near Eastern languages at Brigham Young University. The donation ceremony was held on Monday at the office of the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation in Mapo District, western Seoul.

Epitaph tablets are stone or ceramic plaques that record details of the life of a deceased person. The information includes their achievements, personality and family relations. Jo, born in 1841, had two daughters and a son with Park. She was buried in Suwon, Gyeoggi, upon passing in 1892. Her tomb was later moved to Pocheon, Gyeonggi, for a joint burial with Park in 1921.

"White Porcelain Epitaph Plaque with Cobalt-blue Underglaze Calligraphy for Madam Jo" of the Yangju Jo clan, from 1892 [CULTURAL HERITAGE ADMINISTRATION]

According to the CHA, Prof. Peterson, a renowned scholar in Korean history who received his doctoral degree at Harvard University, “accidentally purchased the epitaph plaque and had it with him until July 2022.” He expressed his intention to return it to the descendants and, with the help of the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, the handover was made possible.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [[email protected]]