Daejeon Museum of Art Holds Its Fifth "Small Exhibition inside the Museum" of the Year -
Containing the Efforts of Confucian Scholars Nationwide for Re-engraving… Daejeon’s First Returned Cultural Heritage

 

The Daejeon Museum of Art (Director Jung Pil-gu) is holding its fifth "Small Exhibition inside the Museum" of the year, titled 《From Wall Decoration Back to Cultural Heritage – The Woodblock Prints of 'Songja Daejeon'》.

This exhibition marks the public debut of the printing woodblocks for the 『Songja Daejeon (Collected Works of Song Si-yeol)』, which have returned home through the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation. This is the first case of a Daejeon cultural heritage item being successfully recovered and repatriated from overseas. The exhibited items consist of Pages 27 and 28 of Volume 174 among the woodblocks of the Songja Daejeon, which were re-engraved in 1926 at Namganjeongsa Temple in Daejeon. Having spent over half a century in the United States used as a wall hanging, the woodblock has finally returned to its hometown of Daejeon.

The woodblocks for the collected works of Song Si-yeol (Songja Daejeon) were first carved during the reign of King Jeongjo and kept at Hwanjangsa Temple in Hwayang-dong, Goesan. However, in 1907, Japanese troops deployed to suppress righteous armies burned down the temple, destroying the woodblocks along with it.

Efforts to re-engrave the collection faced multiple setbacks before gaining full momentum in the 1920s, when Confucian scholars nationwide formed the Hwayang Soje Ancient Sites Preservation Society in Soje-dong, Daejeon. The preservation society established local chapters across various provinces and raised donations from its members, successfully re-engraving over 5,000 printing woodblocks at Namganjeongsa Temple in 1926.

Some of these newly carved woodblocks surfaced in an antique shop in Insa-dong, Seoul, in the early 1970s. Aaron Gordon, an employee at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Korea mission, purchased them and gifted them to his younger sister when he returned to the U.S. in 1972. Metal rings for wall hanging were attached to the woodblock, and silver pigment was painted over the characters, transforming a tool once used for printing books into an exotic decorative artifact. After remaining in the U.S. for over half a century, the woodblock returned to Daejeon through the U.S. office of the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, following the expression of intent to donate by Gordon's grandson, Aaron Palla, and his family.

Alongside the woodblock, materials illustrating the process of the re-engraving project are also on display. The "Songja Daejeon Jungganso Mangcheop (Roster of the Songja Daejeon Re-engraving Office)," a document from 1913 recording the official titles and seven personnel of the re-engraving office, is the first confirmed physical document of the office, which was previously only known through newspaper articles.

The roster lists high-ranking officials from the Korean Empire who received peerage titles from Japanese colonial authorities after the annexation, such as Min Yeong-gyu (Head of Manufacturing), Kim Jong-han (Director), and Kim Hak-jin (Head of Proofreading). Notably, Min Jong-sik, a righteous army leader who raised arms against Japanese forces in Hongju following the Eulsa Treaty, is also listed as Secretary-General. This roster bridges the missing historical link between the destruction of the original Songja Daejeon woodblocks and the establishment of the Hwayang Soje Ancient Sites Preservation Society in the 1920s, demonstrating that the effort to re-carve the burnt woodblocks continued without interruption.

Also presented is the "Documents Related to the Hwayang Soje Ancient Sites Preservation Society," which contain the society's prospectus, general meeting minutes, membership application forms, and postcards and letters exchanged with members nationwide. These documents reveal the founding purpose, executive structure, woodblock production costs, and fundraising methods. Additionally, an original copy of the 『Songja Daejeon』 and a portion of the Songja Daejeon woodblocks that have remained in their rightful place in Daejeon are displayed side by side, allowing visitors to compare them with the repatriated woodblock.

"This woodblock holds profound significance as the first overseas-bound Daejeon cultural heritage item to be successfully recovered and returned to its proper place," said Jung Pil-gu, Director of the Daejeon Museum of Art. "We hope this exhibition allows visitors to explore both the dedication of the Confucian scholars embedded within the woodblock and the regional history of Daejeon."