Seoul, March 3 (ZXS) -- Why did China's Northern Song Dynasty coins appear on Jeju Island in South Korea?

——Interview with Lee Hao-chul, President of the Korean Cultural Heritage Research Institute

Written by Liu Xu Wan Jiaxin

On January 1, local time, the Daehan Institute of Cultural Properties released the preliminary results of the excavation of the temple site of Wudengdong on Jeju Island, and the study showed that about 26 copper coins of the Northern Song Dynasty of China were unearthed at the temple site of Wudengdong. Recently, Lee Yong-cheol, president of the Korean Cultural Heritage Research Institute, accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East-West Question", starting from the research of the ruins of the Wudengdong temple, introducing the excavation process of Chinese cultural relics in Korea, and exploring the context of historical exchanges between China and South Korea.

The following is a summary of the interview:

China News Agency: Please introduce the background and process of the excavation of the Wudengdong temple site.

Lee Yong-chul: In 2020, when a resident of Jeju Island wanted to build a warehouse facility on his private land in Odeng-dong, he learned that it was a cultural heritage site. In accordance with Korean administrative procedures, in December 2020, we first conducted a one-month test survey of the region. The state then sets a budget to ensure funding for research.

In the summer of 2022, the excavation survey officially began, and around October 2022, Chinese copper coins were found in the site for the first time. Finally, in the results of the excavation investigation, in addition to ancient Chinese copper coins, Chinese ceramic products were also unearthed. We will carefully study the excavated artifacts within six months and submit a report to the government.

Panorama of the temple ruins of Wudengdong. Photo courtesy of interviewee

China News Agency: Please introduce the specific information of the cultural relics unearthed this time and the excavation process at that time.

Lee Yong-cheol: In the excavation of Korean cultural heritage, the currency of the Northern Song Dynasty of China is not often present, so the cultural relics unearthed this time have attracted our special attention.

During the excavation and investigation of the Wudengdong temple site, about 20 copper coins of the Northern Song Dynasty of China were unearthed. According to current observations, the copper coins of the Song Dynasty unearthed this time can be divided into three types - Xianping Yuanbao, Imperial Song Tongbao, and Zhiping Yuanbao. Zhiping Yuanbao is divided into two versions according to the cast Chinese characters, seal book and kaishu, and the Chinese characters cast by the copper coins unearthed in Wudengdong this time are seal books. From 998 to 1067 AD, these three currencies were issued and circulated in the Northern Song Dynasty of China. Therefore, the excavation of this artifact can help infer the construction time of the temple site of Wudengdong.

When people in the Goryeo era began to build buildings, they would throw copper coins at the god of the land, praying that the god of the land would bless the building for a safe and long time. So we speculate that it is likely that someone was going to build an important building in the area of the Wudengdong temple site at that time, and the copper coins were buried in the ground. This was also one of the uses of money at that time.

In addition to currency, there are about three Chinese ceramics among the artifacts unearthed this time, which we speculate were made from Yuezhou kilns or Longquan kilns in China. Wudengdong Temple was previously destroyed by fire, and a large number of ceramics were destroyed, while the copper coins were preserved intact.

Chinese Yuan Dynasty ceramics unearthed from the ruins of Wudengdong Temple. Photo courtesy of interviewee

China News Agency: What is the possible reason why Northern Song coins appeared on Jeju Island? What evidence can you have for the history of Sino-Korean exchanges?

Lee: I think this may be related to the political, economic and cultural exchanges between South Korea, China and Japan. The three kingdoms have been linked for a long time, and the currency of the Chinese king Mangxin has been found in the Korean Peninsula such as Jeju Island, as well as in Japan. The discovery of Chinese currency on Jeju Island can also be used as evidence of the active exchanges between the three countries.

Jeju Island is a place of call for trading ships from Qingdao in China to Japan and other places, and when trading ships dock here, people from all over the world trade here. People would buy food on Jeju Island, and Chinese currency would be transferred to Jeju Islanders. At that time, just as the Chinese yuan, the Korean won, and the Japanese yen could be used at the same time, it is possible that the currency of the Northern Song Dynasty of China was also used in Korea during the Korean Goryeo era.

Conversely, some scholars have proposed doctrines that cannot be used. According to the current research results of scholars, the conclusions will be different, and we have not yet made up our minds. But we expect this currency to play an important role in revealing Korea-China engagement.

Copper coins were unearthed at the site of the temple site of Godengdong on Jeju Island. Photo courtesy of interviewee

China News Agency: What other examples of similar excavations of Chinese cultural relics have been found in South Korea? What are the well-known artifacts?

Li Yunche: In addition to this currency, there are many cultural relics such as ceramics, utensils, gold products and bronzes made in China, as well as bronze treasures made during the Han Dynasty in China, such as bronze knives. Cultural relics from different dynasties such as the Western Chu established by Xiang Yu, the Han Dynasty established by Liu Bang, and the New Dynasty established by Wang Mang have been unearthed in Korea, and there are also Ming Dynasty relics. Through these materials, we study why so many Chinese artifacts appear on the Korean Peninsula.

A small gold-bronze multi-storey pagoda unearthed from the ruins of the temple in Wudengdong. Photo courtesy of interviewee

Cultural heritage is important, but one of the most famous is the tomb of King Muyeong in Baekje. When Baekje moved the capital to Gongju, King Wuning had active ties with China. The tomb bricks unearthed near the tomb of the King of Wuning were built by Chinese technicians, and it is said that Chinese Liang Dynasty currency was also unearthed there.

China News Agency: What is the significance of these cultural relics excavations for the study of the history of exchanges between South Korea? What is the current status of exchanges between China and South Korea in the field of cultural relics conservation and research? Are there any plans for future cooperation?

Lee: The excavation of these cultural heritage sites proves that South Korea and China have been actively engaged in exchanges since a long time. Through exchanges, cultures of various countries influence each other and grow into more developed cultures.

Although the ongoing cultural exchanges between South Korea, China, and Japan have sometimes been suspended due to various problems, the exchanges between the peoples of the three countries have never completely stopped. Therefore, I hope to study the interaction between Korea, China, and Japan in the course of their historical development. Wouldn't it be a good thing if such an important cultural relic could be unearthed and exchanged with China, introduced to each other, and studied together?

In addition, I think that exchange is important for the study of cultural relics. Why are Northern Song artifacts buried under temples on Jeju Island? I speculate that there were personnel exchanges between Korea and China in history. What kind of people would come to Jeju Island? For what purpose? What is the relationship between the Jeju Island people and the Northern Song people? These should all become research topics in the future, and I hope to conduct more academic research. But the best way to produce a complete study is for scholars from the two countries to exchange and study together to find out the past history one by one. (End)

Respondent Profile:

Lee Kyon-chul, President of the Korean Cultural Heritage Research Institute, majored in archaeology, doctor of literature, served as the general director of the Baekje Society and a member of the Jeollanam-do Cultural Heritage Committee.