| Jeonggye-bi Monument 定 界碑 on Baekdu-san historic relic from 1712 |
The 白頭山 定界碑 백두산 정계비 Baekdu-san Jeonggye-bi / White-Head Mountain Establish Border
Stele is a stone monument built on the southern (Korean) slope of Mt. Baekdu, to show the boundary
between the Joseon Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty (Manchuria). It must be regarded as false and
controversial, as it implies that all the summit peaks and the vast Cheonji Lake belong to Qing -- in
reality the border runs on the middle of the lake, with Korea holding nearly half of the mountain; North
Korea now holds only 25%, as Kim Il-sung submitted the rest to Mao's China during the Korean War.
Stele is a stone monument built on the southern (Korean) slope of Mt. Baekdu, to show the boundary
between the Joseon Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty (Manchuria). It must be regarded as false and
controversial, as it implies that all the summit peaks and the vast Cheonji Lake belong to Qing -- in
reality the border runs on the middle of the lake, with Korea holding nearly half of the mountain; North
Korea now holds only 25%, as Kim Il-sung submitted the rest to Mao's China during the Korean War.
Manchuria was the ethnic-origin area of the most ancient Koreans, then the Goguryeo
Kingdom ~300-668 CE, then the Balhae Kingdom 7th to 9th cen, then Jurchen people
who formed the Liao Dynasty that warred with China's Song Dynasty and Korea's Goryeo
Dynasty; and finally the Manchu tribes that formed the Qing Dynasty. Qing forced the
submission of Korea's Joseon Dynasty in the early 1600s, the conquered all of China in
1644. This monument is a political one, established by Emperor Qing Ao Mok Guk-deung
(穆克登) to "clarify" the border in favor of the Qing in 1712 (38th year of Joseon King Sukjong).
Japanese colonialists removed this monument during the "Manchurian Incident " of 1931,
a step towards World War II. They kept the original in the National Museum of Korea
collection; it is now in the Seoul Central branch, sometimes on display. The North Korean
regime erected a replica on the original site, at about 1750 meters altitude, below Janggun-
bong on the Baekdu-daegan Ridgeline on the way towards Sobaek-san, in the 1980s.
Kingdom ~300-668 CE, then the Balhae Kingdom 7th to 9th cen, then Jurchen people
who formed the Liao Dynasty that warred with China's Song Dynasty and Korea's Goryeo
Dynasty; and finally the Manchu tribes that formed the Qing Dynasty. Qing forced the
submission of Korea's Joseon Dynasty in the early 1600s, the conquered all of China in
1644. This monument is a political one, established by Emperor Qing Ao Mok Guk-deung
(穆克登) to "clarify" the border in favor of the Qing in 1712 (38th year of Joseon King Sukjong).
Japanese colonialists removed this monument during the "Manchurian Incident " of 1931,
a step towards World War II. They kept the original in the National Museum of Korea
collection; it is now in the Seoul Central branch, sometimes on display. The North Korean
regime erected a replica on the original site, at about 1750 meters altitude, below Janggun-
bong on the Baekdu-daegan Ridgeline on the way towards Sobaek-san, in the 1980s.
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