A bronze bell has been discovered that proves that a tomb located in Ji¡¯an, Jilin Province, China, is actually the resting place of King Kwanggaeto the Great. It also refutes claims made by the Japanese that southern regions of the Korean Peninsula, and the Kaya Kingdom in particular, were controlled by the ancient Yamato Dynasty of Japan.
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The tomb of King Kwanggaeto the Great, digitally restored by Park Jin-ho, a digital restoration specialist.
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Cho Beop-jong, a professor of history at Woosuk University, said Tuesday that the ornament excavated from the Tomb in Jilin Province was confirmed to be in the possession of Ji¡¯an Museum at the end of last year. On it was writing that said it was the 96th jewel made by the shaman of "Hotaewang", or "Great King Ho" in Shinmyonyeon, dating to 391 AD.
The cylindrical bronze bell was excavated last May and is 5 to 6 centimeters high, and has an upper diameter of 2.5 cm and a lower diameter of 3 cm. The tomb has long been suspected of being that of King Kwanggaeto. Except for one brick, in which the word ¡°Great King¡± is inscribed, however, there has been no conclusive evidence. Cho said that since the artifact excavated from the tomb bears Kwanggaeto¡¯s nickname ¡°Great King Ho,¡± the identity of the tomb is now firmly established.
Cho also said that the year inscribed on the bell could be used as a basis with which Japanese claims to have ruled the southern parts of the Korean Peninsula can be refuted. He said that Japanese scholars have interpreted the ¡°Shinmyonyeonjo¡± written on the King Kwanggaeto Stele as meaning that in the Shinmyonyoen Year (391 AD), the Japanese crossed the sea, defeated the Paekje and Shilla Kingdoms, and turned them into subject states. The discovery of the bell, however, leads Cho to believe that it means that in that year, King Kwanggaeto did something worth remembering. In fact, he said, it could become grounds for interpreting ¡°shinmyonyeonjo¡± as meaning that in 391, Koguryo crossed the sea and defeated Japan.
(Yu Seok-jae, karma@chosun.com )
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