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The National Palace Museum of Korea (Director: Kim In Kyu), an affiliate of the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea, has selected its Branding Iron for an Identification Tablet of a Commanding General of the Five Military Commands as the “Curator’s Choice from the Royal Treasures” for the month of December. In addition to being displayed in the Joseon Palaces Gallery on the second floor of the museum, the iron will be presented virtually in a YouTube broadcast on the channels of the Cultural Heritage Administration and the National Palace Museum of Korea starting December 1.

* National Palace Museum of Korea YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/gogungmuseum

** Cultural Heritage Administration YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/chluvu

Commanding generals, known in Korean as wijang, were military officials of the Joseon Dynasty who were in charge of patrolling the royal palace at night. They carried government identification tablets known as busin. During the Joseon era, identification tablets were used as a means of proving that the bearer had authorization for matters such as entering the palaces, going on night patrol around the capital, opening and closing the palace gates, using government horses, issuing emergency orders, overseeing military conscription, and performing night duty in the palaces. They were impressed with a stamp to carefully manage them and to prevent forgeries.

The Branding Iron for an Identification Tablet of a Commanding General of the Five Military Commands housed in the National Palace Museum of Korea was used during the reign of Emperor Gojong (r. 1863–1907), and it is featured in the Complete Register of Royal Seals and Credentials (Boin busin chongsu), which describes the seals and credentials of the Korean Empire. No examples of an identification tablet for a commanding general of the Five Military Commands have survived, but records in the Register indicate that the Chinese characters “衛將” (wijang), indicating the commanding general of the Five Military Commands, were incised on the front side of the tablet and a mark was burned into the rectangular area in the center of the back using a hot iron. The Branding Iron for an Identification Tablet of a Commanding General of the Five Military Commands is an important item that offers a glimpse into the detailed equipment and efforts dedicated to ensuring peace and security in the palace and the nation during the Joseon Dynasty.

Although there are no restrictions on the number of visitors allowed in the gallery, all visitors to the museum must abide by the requirements in place to reduce any potential spread of COVID-19. Those who are unable to visit the gallery in person can still enjoy this month’s Curator’s Choice virtually through a video with Korean and English subtitles available on the museum’s website (gogung.go.kr) and on the YouTube channels of the museum and of the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea.

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