Its wooden part is finished with Korea’s traditional
golden and colorful patterns called Geumoro.
The tablet that is hung on the center of Jeil Gate is 7m in length
and 1.5m in height and reads, “嶺南第一 門.” It was written
by Eung Hyeong Kim (Pen Name: Yeocho), one of the most famous calligraphers
of Korea, and engraved by Gak Han Kim, a local successor of traditional
engraving.
The Geumoro patterns and the image of a flying fairy
that are painted by Sir Jeong Woo Cho, an artist who was appointed
as Intangible Cultural Asset #14, and are hung on both sides of
the tablet. The image of a flying fairy is depicted with several
symbols of Gimcheon, including Korean cymbals (Jing), drums (Janggo),
small cymbals (Koaenggoari), and grapes, and delivers us elegance
and traditional beauty.
Yeongnam Jeil Gate is standing on a historically and geographical
symbolic location. In the old times, Yeongnam’s scholars
crossed over Chupungryeong, Joryeong, and Jungnyeong to go to Hanyang,
the capital, for the governmental examination. Today, Gimcheon,
the gateway to Yeongnam, must still be crossed when traveling from
Seoul to Daegu, Busan, or other Gyeongsang-do regions through Chungcheong-do.
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