Epitaph Plaque of the First Appointed Korean Minister’s wife

Safely Returns Home from the United States

 - Renowned American Professor in Korean History gave it back to the descendants -

The Epitaph plaque (墓誌) of Madam Jo (1841-1892), wife of Park Chung Yang (1841-1905), who was dispatched to the U.S. as the first Korean minister in 1887, returned from the U.S. and was held in the arms of their descendants in their home country.

The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA; Administrator: Choi Eung-chon), and the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation (OKCHF; Chair: Kim Jung-hee), delivered the White Porcelain Epitaph Plaque with Cobalt-blue Underglaze Calligraphy for Madam Jo of the Yangju Jo clan (백자청화정부인양주조씨묘지; 白磁靑畵貞夫人楊州趙氏墓誌)," donated by Professor Emeritus Mark A. Peterson of Brigham Young University to Mr. Park Chan Su, head of the Bannam Park Clan (great-grandson of minister Park Chung Yang, Professor of Business Administration, Korea University) at 3:00 pm on October 30, 2023, at the office of OKCHF in Seoul.

The epitaph plaque donated by Professor Peterson is a typical late Joseon period one, created in 1892. It recorded the life of Madam Jo of the Yangju Jo Clan, Park Chung Yang's first wife, in 122 letters on one ceramic plaque. Madam Jo had two daughters and a son with Park Chung Yang and was buried in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do province, upon passing in 1892. Her tomb was moved to Pocheon, Gyeonggi-do province for a joint burial with Park Chung Yang in 1921, and it is believed to have been damaged by unknown causes judging by its condition.

Professor Peterson, a renowned scholar in Korean history who received his doctoral degree at Harvard University accidentally purchased this epitaph plaque and kept it until July 2022, when he expressed his intention to return it to the descendants on his YouTube channel, “Frog Outside the Well.” An employee of the OKCHF’s U.S. office, who watched the YouTube video, contacted Prof. Peterson and the descendants of Park Chung Yang, and the donation was agreed upon.

With the consent of both parties, the Foundation showcased the epitaph plaque at the local special exhibition in October 2022 at the Old Korean Legation Museum, Washington, D.C.. Visitors to the exhibition responded, "Park Chung Yang lived in Washington, D.C., nearly 135 years ago, as the first minister. We are deeply touched to see Park Chung Yang's wife's epitaph plaque in the old Korean Legation." The plaque was transported to the Foundation’s headquarters in Seoul at the end of the exhibition in September and kept there - until this delivery ceremony, during which it was safely returned to the family.

The CHA and OKCHF will put in their best efforts for the repatriation of Korean cultural heritage located overseas by strengthening the local cooperation networks and communicating actively.



Division: International Cooperation Division, Heritage Promotion Bureau
Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation
Contact persons: Baek Hyun Min (042-481-4734)
Park Ji Yeon (042-481-4738)
Kim Sang Yup (02-6902-0788)
Kang Im San (+1-771-217-1277)
Cho Haengri (+1-571-460-7128)

Attachment: 1. About the Artifact
2. About the Donor

About the Artifact

○ Artifact Name: White Porcelain Epitaph Plaque with Cobalt-blue Underglaze Calligraphy for Madam Jo of the Yangju Jo clan (白磁靑畵貞夫人楊州趙氏墓誌)

○ Production period: 1892 (29th year of King Gojong)

○ Material: White porcelain with cobalt-blue underglaze calligraphy

○ Dimensions/quantity: 17.5×14.7×1.3 cm / 1 sheet

○ Return method: Donation* (Given place: Bannam Park Clan, Jukcheon-gong family)

* Donor: Mark A. Peterson (American, professor emeritus at Brigham College, USA)

○ Introduction: The epitaph plaque (墓誌) of Madam Jo from Yangju Jo clan, the first wife of Park Chung Yang (1841-1905), who was the first Korean minister dispatched to the USA, 122 characters in total.

About the Donor

Mark A. Peterson (b. 1946)

Mark A. Peterson is a professor emeritus of Asian and Near Eastern Languages and Korean Studies at Brigham Young University, Utah, and is one of the experts in Korean studies in the United States. He earned a bachelor's degree in Asian and anthropological sciences from Brigham Young University, and a master's degree and a doctorate in East Asian studies from Harvard University. He was director of the Korea Fulbright Foundation from 1978 to 1983, and served as a professor at Brigham Young University from 1984. He served as chairman of the Korean Studies Committee of the American Asian Studies Association and editor-in-chief of the Korea Journal published by UNESCO. There are a number of articles on Korean studies, including Korean Adoption and Inheritance: Case Studies in the Creation of a Classic Confucian Society, Cornell East Asia Series (February 28, 2010). Currently, he operates a YouTube channel called "Frog Outside the Well" with about 140,000 subscribers under the theme of Korea and Korean history, and has recently published a book in Korea.