14 - The Seventh Day (Fifteenth Day of the Intercalary Second Month)

Summary

THE ITINERARY OF THE RETURN FROM HWASEONG TO SIHEUNG

THE PROCESSION RETURNED to Hanseong by the same route as to Hwaseong. Those in the procession were to have lunch at Sageuncham Rural Palace and stay the night at Siheung Rural Palace. At jinsi, some time between seven and nine o’clock in the morning, the king appeared at the rural palace and said:

I am concerned about the scouts who have been standing by for days in Gwangju, Siheung, Gwacheon and other regions. Shoot messenger arrows to deliver this order to the Commands of the Northern and Southern Approaches: ‘The scouts shall be disengaged in turn after the royal procession passes their respective regions.’

The king and his retinue arrived at Mireukhyeon. This hill, which is now on the boundary between the cities of Suwon and Uiwang, was relatively high at that time. After the king and his retinue crossed over the hill, Hyeollyungwon Tomb as well as Hwaseong disappeared from sight. The king therefore made the following statement to his officials:

Whenever I reach this hill, I never want to leave it, so I stop and look south for a long time. I find myself leading my horse this way and that. This time, I have found a round place made of stone at the top of this hill. Name the place ‘Jiji’ (‘slow and tardy’). Also, erect a monument inscribed with the name ‘Jijidae’ (‘place of slowness and tardiness’) at the foot of the hill.

Since then, the hill has been called ‘Jijidae Hill’, and the pavilion housing the monument still exists today.

The royal procession arrived at Sageuncham Rural Palace around lunchtime. The king arrived at the tent erected in the palace ahead of his mother, and called in City Governor of Gwangju Seo Mi-su, District Magistrate of Siheung Hong Gyeong-hu, County Magistrate of Gwacheon Kim Yi-yu and other officials assigned temporary missions for the royal procession. He asked them about the problems of their regions and the difficulties of the residents, seeking to hear about the hardships of the people directly from the magistrates and the officials who secretly inspected those regions.