A man’s destiny defying feng shui

SHIN BOK-RYONG
The author is an emeritus professor of history at Konkuk University.

A movie about the relocation of ancestral graves is popular. While there are many controversies, there is nothing bad about the landscape of a mountain in the back blocking the wind and a stream flowing quietly in front. While the Christian civilization considers feng shui a superstition, the culture of funeral and burial is natural geography in a way.

A notable example of grave relocation is Lee Wan-yong (1858-1926). He was a typical case of a talented man lacking virtue. Coming from a prestigious family, he was rich and well-educated. Regardless of whether he was good or evil, he was the person who understood the trend most accurately at the time. He modeled himself after Hirobumi Ito — the first Prime Minister of Japan and later governor of Korea — and became the star of the “Jeongdong Club,” the stage for diplomats, by learning English before others. He was also famous for calligraphy.

Lee was a pro-Russian frontrunner at first but soon transformed into a pro-American politician after watching the result of the Russo-Japanese war (1904-05). However, when he realized that the United States would not protect Joseon till the end while serving as a minister, he turned pro-Japanese. When Song Byeong-jun gained the upper hand in bargaining with Ito to sell off Joseon to Japan, Lee Wan-yong became nervous that he was being overtaken and rushed the Korea-Japan annexation treaty.

How come such a clever man didn’t know what would happen to a traitor in the end? Lee asked the best feng shui master of the time to build his real grave in Mireuk Mountain, Iksan, North Jeolla and made six fake graves. His funeral procession stretched over 2 miles and was the most splendid since King Gojong’s. But he could not avoid the criticism of history.

His clan exhumed his grave in 1979. A nearby university museum purchased the coffin and articles, but when it became controversial, the museum got rid of them. As his family lineage was severed, they adopted children. Why did the family go extinct when Lee was buried in such a good spot? Leviticus 20:22 says, “Keep all my decrees and laws and follow them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live may not vomit you out.”