Sayart.net - Historical Epitaph Plaque of Korea′s First U.S. Minister′s Wife Returns to Descendants

Courtesy of Cultural Heritage Administration

The epitaph plaque of Madam Jo (1841-92), the wife of Park Chung-yang (1841-1905), Korea's first minister to the United States in 1887, has been returned to her descendants in South Korea.

The return of this historical artifact was made possible through a donation by Mark Peterson, a prominent Korean studies scholar and professor emeritus at Brigham Young University. The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) and the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation (OKCHF) facilitated this return.

In a ceremony held at the OKCHF headquarters in Seoul on Monday, the "White Porcelain Epitaph Plaque with Cobalt-blue Underglaze Calligraphy for Madam Jo of the Yangju Jo clan" was handed over to Park Chan-su, the great-grandson of Jo and Park. Park Chan-su, who is a business administration professor at Korea University, will entrust the Jukcheon-gong family of the Bannam Park clan with safeguarding the artifact. 

▲ Courtesy of Cultural Heritage Administration

The epitaph plaque, measuring 17.5 cm in height, 14.7 cm in width, and 1.3 cm in thickness, is a typical example from the latter years of the 1392-1910 Joseon Dynasty. It was created in the 29th regnal year of King Gojong, which corresponds to 1892. The white porcelain plaque features 122 letters in cobalt-blue underglaze that provide an account of Madam Jo's life. She had two daughters and a son with Minister Park.

Initially, Madam Jo was interred in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, upon her passing in 1892. Later, in 1921, her tomb was relocated to Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, for a joint burial with her husband. The plaque's condition suggests it may have been lost and damaged before the joint burial for reasons unknown.

Mark Peterson, a distinguished scholar in Korean history with a doctoral degree from Harvard University, served as the director of the Korea Fulbright Foundation from 1978 to 1983. He also held the positions of chairman of the Korean Studies Committee of the American Asian Studies Association and editor-in-chief of the Korea Journal, published by UNESCO. Peterson had inadvertently acquired the plaque and had it in his possession for approximately 40 years. 

▲ Courtesy of Cultural Heritage Administration

In July 2022, he expressed his intention to return the epitaph plaque to the family of Park Chung-yang through his YouTube channel "The Frog Outside the Well," which is dedicated to delivering content related to Korea and Korean history to around 140,000 subscribers. An employee from OKCHF's U.S. office saw the video and facilitated contact between Peterson and the descendants, culminating in the agreement for the donation.

Before returning to South Korea, the epitaph plaque was displayed at a special exhibition titled "PARK, CHUNG YANG: First Korean Minister to the U.S." at the Old Korean Legation Museum in Washington, D.C., commencing in October 2022.

The foundation reported that visitors to the exhibition recognized the historical significance of the plaque, acknowledging its testament to the enduring relationship between South Korea and the United States. Park Chung-yang resided in Washington nearly 135 years ago as Korea's first representative to the U.S.

Following the conclusion of the exhibition in September, the plaque was stored at the OKCHF office in Seoul until the delivery ceremony.

The CHA and OKCHF expressed their commitment to continued efforts in repatriating Korean cultural heritage located overseas through networking and communication.

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