The Tangjin Accident

In 1998, the Kyongju National Museum (國立慶州博物館, 국립경주박물관, Kungnip Kyǒngju Pangmulkwan) in Kyongju (慶州市, 경주시, Kyongju-si), North Kyongsang Province (慶尙北道, 경상북도, Kyongsangpuk-do) analyzed the composition of the bell of King Songdok (r.702-737, 聖德王, 성덕왕, Sŏngdŏk Wang) of the Kingdom of Silla (57 BC-935 AD, 新羅, 신라) which is designated as National Treasure No. 29. The results showed that the bell was composed of 85 percent copper and 14 percent zinc. No traces of calcium phosphate, an ingredient in human bone, were found, which helped to debunk the long-standing legend about the bell and its creation. The legend has it that a baby was cast into the bell when previous efforts produced soundless bells that would not ring.
In reality, there are no written records before the start of the 20th century giving credence to that legend. According to the history book Samguk Yusa (三國遺事, 삼국유사, Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms) King Kyongdok (r.742-765, 景德王, 경덕왕, Kyŏngdŏk Wang) tried to build a bell for King Songdok with 120 000 kun (근) of copper (72 tonnes), but failed to complete the job. His son King Hyegong (756-780, r.765-780, 惠恭王, 혜공왕, Hyegong Wang) completed the bell and dedicated it to Pongdok Temple (봉덕사, Pongdoksa) in 771. In other Koryo Dynasty (918-1392, 高麗國, 고려국, Koryoguk) and Choson Dynasty (1392-1910, 大朝鮮國, 대조선국, Taechosonguk) documents that mention the bell, there is nothing suggesting a baby was sacrificed for its completion.
It is believed that the oldest material containing the legend is The Passing of Korea, written by American missionary Homer Hulbert (1863-1949) in 1906. Hulbert wrote that Koreans said the bell was made with the sacrifice of a baby and tolled with the sound “Emmi, Emmille.” He also said that the sound “Emmi, Emmille” meant “Mother, because of Mother.” According to his book, however, the bell was located not in Kyongju but in the centre of Seoul.

King Songdok Bell (Emille Bell)

The King Songdok Bell, which is also known as the Emille Bell, was the subject of Emille Bell, a play written by pro-Japanese writer Ham Se-hun (함세훈) in 1942. Because of the play, some people speculated that the folktale was fabricated by Japanese imperialists trying to diminish Korea’s cultural heritage.
Mun Yong (문영), a historical novelist, pointed out that there was a similar folktale in China’s Tang Dynasty (618-907, 唐朝, Táng Cháo). He said that messages accusing those in power of taking human lives were probably turned into a folktale about human sacrifice. For those who made the sacrifice, the bell’s toll must have sounded mournful and full of resentment.
Sometimes last year in Tangjin County (唐津郡, 당진군, Tanjin-kun), South Chungchong Province (忠清南道, 충청남도, Chungchongnam-do) a young man lost his life when he fell into a 1 400-degree Celsius blast furnace. If my memory still holds, after the incident, a moving elegy was posted on the Internet by an anonymous writer. It said, in part:

Do not use molten metal
The life of a young man disappeared in the heat.
Do not use molten metal...
Mould his face with clay
Pour molten metal on it.
When it is cooled by rain, polish it with your utmost effort
And erect it at the main gate
So his mother can touch the face of her son
When she visits the place where he died.

I sincerely hope that the elegy had encouraged, and still encourages, people to think about the value of life and how we can preserve it by preventing careless accidents like the one in Tangjin.

Giorgio Olivotto

Photo by Giorgio Olivotto
Seoul, Korea
October 9, 2011