The two mothers of Imjin War, who sang “Smell of Mummy”… The body is neglected, why

The two mothers of Imjin War, who sang “Smell of Mummy”… The body is neglected, why

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In the process of dismissing the mummified body of Guseong Lee (first wife), discovered at the construction site of the industrial complex in Osan, Gyeonggi-do in 2010, at Korea University Guro Hospital. [사진 서경문화재연구원]

In the process of dismissing the mummified body of Guseong Lee (first wife), discovered at the construction site of the industrial complex in Osan, Gyeonggi-do in 2010, at Korea University Guro Hospital. [사진 서경문화재연구원]

“Have you dug up someone else’s grave?” “What did the bodies do after taking off their clothes?”

[뉴스AS]
Two 16th-century female mummy unearthed in 2010
‘Practically neglected’ in the autopsy room after collection of doubles
Related law blank… “I need to hurry up the revision work”

On the 27th of last month, JoongAng Ilbo’s 〈“It smells like mummy” Archaeologists’ resilience…The two mistresses of the Imjin War were discovered side by sideThese are the comments that poured out when the article made a hot repercussion. The article described the excavation situation of the two tombs in 2010 in relation to the mausoleum excavation of Guseongi Guo and Heungi Yeo (total 96 cases, 124 points), which was recently announced by the Cultural Heritage Administration as a national folk cultural property. At that time, a female body, presumed to be the ex-wife and the posterior of a squadron who lived before the Imjin War in the 16th century, was found in a mummy state. How these bodies were disposed of afterwards, the principles of excavation of such old tombs, through expert explanations.
(※There is a picture of a mummy in full form at the bottom of this article, so if you do not want to see it, please refer to it.)

What happened to the mummies that took off the rare outfits?
In conclusion, it is still stored in the autopsy room next to the funeral hall of Korea University Guro Hospital, where the mummies were dismantled. It is the 11th year of excavation. Kim Han-gyeom, a former Korea University professor who led the decommissioning work as a research authority on mummies in Korea, took over and managed mummies that weren’t right where to go. In order to prevent mummies from spoiling, they must be stored in a freezer, because there is not yet a national institution in the country that can hold them professionally. Professor Kim, who left office at the beginning of this year, said in his phone call, “I managed a total of 8 mummies, but now there are 4 in Guro Hospital and 4 in Korea University Medical School.” He said, “Because I left my office in the absence of support for research, preservation, and management, I was left in the autopsy room,” he said. “It is pitiful to think of the deceased in the most expensive tombs of the Joseon Dynasty.”
The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on the 23rd of last month that it announced the designation of the'Osan Guseongi and Yeohungyi's tomb excavation costumes' as a national folk cultural property, which can grasp the costume culture and commerce and funeral customs of women in the middle of the Joseon Dynasty. The photo shows Lee's Garima (a type of woman's hood) that was found in a mummy state. [사진 문화재청]

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on the 23rd of last month that it announced the designation of the’Osan Guseongi and Yeohungyi’s tomb excavation costumes’ as a national folk cultural property, which can grasp the costume culture and commerce and funeral customs of women in the middle of the Joseon Dynasty. The photo shows Lee’s Garima (a type of woman’s hood) that was found in a mummy state. [사진 문화재청]

The tomb was dug regardless of the will of the deceased.
The place where these mummy tombs came out was the construction site of the 2nd general industrial complex in Osan, Gyeonggi-do. Three tombs were discovered side by side in the process of plowing the land, each presumed to be the tomb of the husband and his ex-wife and his wife. However, it was a virtually’unrelated tomb’ with no descendants to manage. If such unleaded tombs are found when conducting a development project, the business operator announces it to newspapers in accordance with the Business Act (Business Act). If it is an ancestor’s grave, it is said to be contacted. If the ancestors are confirmed, a small transfer fee will be paid according to the business law. Osan’s tomb was not identified even in the same procedure, and due to the nature of the tomb, mummies could appear, so the experts were gathered together and carefully excavated. At the time, Ulsan Museum Director Kim Woo-rim shouted “It smells like a mummy!” “The mummy has a peculiar smell, so I could see it without opening the coffin. It’s an intense version of the smell of moisture in places like catacombs in catacombs.”

When the treatment is over, shouldn’t we even apply makeup?
In fact, if the excavation site determines that it is unleavened, the city/province level asks the company to do cremation treatment. The problem is that, in the case of mummies, which are not ordinary human bones, there is a scarcity, so if they are cremated, they ultimately lead to huge academic losses. Lee Jong-hoon, head of the Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, said, “The human bones and mummies unearthed in the process of excavating buried cultural properties are valuable data that can analyze the genetic and trait characteristics, dietary culture, and cause of death of old people.” Professor Han-Gyeom Kim also emphasized that “if cross-validation with science and technology and literature, it is possible to shed light on Korean disease maps and lifestyle habits hundreds of years ago.”
The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on the 23rd of last month that it announced the designation of the'Osan Guseongi and Yeohungyi's tomb excavation costumes' as a national folk cultural property, which can grasp the costume culture and commerce and funeral customs of women in the middle of the Joseon Dynasty. The photo shows an embroidered needlework trinket excavated from Yeo Heung-i's tomb.[사진 문화재청]

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on the 23rd of last month that it announced the designation of the’Osan Guseongi and Yeohungyi’s tomb excavation costumes’ as a national folk cultural property, which can grasp the costume culture and commerce and funeral customs of women in the middle of the Joseon Dynasty. The photo shows an embroidered needlework trinket excavated from Yeo Heung-i’s tomb.[사진 문화재청]

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on the 23rd of last month that it announced the designation of the'Osan Guseongi and Yeohungyi's tomb excavation costumes' as a national folk cultural property, which can grasp the costume culture and commerce and funeral customs of women in the middle of the Joseon Dynasty. The picture is a leaflet thickened Ssangsuranchima from the tomb of Guseong Lee, who is believed to be the first wife. [사진 문화재청]

The Cultural Heritage Administration announced on the 23rd of last month that it announced the designation of the’Osan Guseongi and Yeohungyi’s tomb excavation costumes’ as a national folk cultural property, which can grasp the costume culture and commerce and funeral customs of women in the middle of the Joseon Dynasty. The picture is a leaflet thickened Ssangsuranchima from the tomb of Guseong Lee, who is believed to be the first wife. [사진 문화재청]

For example, what could be revealed?
Let’s look at the example of the mummy of General Hakbong, unearthed in Daejeon in 2004. The mummy of a 15th-century couple excavated from the graveyard of the Song clan in Yeosan. It is said that it is known as a military officer who lived in the early Joseon Dynasty. From the bronchial tubes and stomach of General Hakbong Lee’s mummies (husband), pollen from the aquatic plant babies came out. In 『Donguibogam』, it is said that babies are eaten when vomiting blood. According to Professor Kim Han-gyeom, the lungs of other mummy shrank smaller than their fists, but the Hakbong mummy remained the same. In other words, he died while suffering from bronchiectasis, and this pathological consideration becomes possible. In the case of’Pa Pyeong-yoon’s mother and child mummy’, which became a hot topic in 2002, a woman in her mid-20s died during childbirth, and soot was found in the lungs. If we study whether this was caused by a lot of charcoal fires or air quality problems, etc., we can learn more about the lives of old people.

But why did I take off my clothes and leave Mummy unattended?
According to the Cultural Heritage Administration, this is a void in the relevant law. Currently, in the’Act on the Protection and Investigation of Buried Cultural Properties’ (the Burial Act), there are no relics and remains, but no human bones or mummies. In other words, when items such as vessels, costumes, scissors, and combs come out of the grave, they are returned to the state according to their importance and are protected as cultural properties. However, human bones and mummies are generally used as research data through shredding and analysis rather than cultural properties that should be preserved by themselves. This does not fall within the scope of cultural properties listed in the Cultural Property Protection Act. Moreover, the experts who can handle mummies are not the existing cultural property related scholars, but the medical staff. Park Yoon-jeong, head of the excavation system at the Cultural Heritage Administration, said, “Not only mummy, but also wood and organic matter from the excavation site are important as research data, even if they are not cultural properties, and related laws must be reorganized so that such samples can be comprehensively researched and managed.”

How far did the bill discussion come?
In 2014, Rep. Eun-hee Kwon (the New Political Democracy Association at the time, currently a member of the National Assembly) and Rep. Seung-rae Cho (The Democratic Party of Korea) in 2016 proposed amendments to the Burial Act. “If a person who has obtained permission to excavate an area where buried cultural properties exist is required to report to the head of the Cultural Heritage Administration without delay when important academic materials (important excavated materials) such as human bones are excavated, they can systematically store and manage them. It stated the purpose of the legislative legislative process, so that the research of the government can be activated.” However, both times were automatically discarded when the session expired. “In recent years, interest in mummy research is increasing again,” said Park Yun-jung, head of the excavation system, and the state management of all the mummies and human bones unearthed in reality has limitations in terms of budget and manpower, so a plan should be prepared to manage and support based on the importance. “He said. Sadly, until then, the mummies from Joseon, such as Guseong Lee and Yeohung Lee, were forced to stay in the autopsy room stand.
In the process of dismissing the mummified body of Guseong Lee (first wife), discovered at the construction site of the industrial complex in Osan, Gyeonggi-do in 2010, at Korea University Guro Hospital. [사진 서경문화재연구원]

In the process of dismissing the mummified body of Guseong Lee (first wife), discovered at the construction site of the industrial complex in Osan, Gyeonggi-do in 2010, at Korea University Guro Hospital. [사진 서경문화재연구원]

The first wife (right) and the second wife, Mira, were discovered with her husband's body in Osan in 2010. It is believed to be a woman in the early or middle Joseon period. Currently, these mummies are stored in the autopsy room of Korea University Guro Hospital. [사진제공=김한겸]

The first wife (right) and the second wife, Mira, were discovered with her husband’s body in Osan in 2010. It is believed to be a woman in the early or middle Joseon period. Currently, these mummies are stored in the autopsy room of Korea University Guro Hospital. [사진제공=김한겸]

Reporter Kang Hye-ran [email protected]


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