Sŏnjuk Bridge is a Koryo

Koryo

Koryo may refer to:*The Goryeo Dynasty of Korea. It is spelt Koryŏ in McCune-Reischauer Romanization.*Koryo, a pumsae in Taekwondo.*Kōryō, Nara, a town in Japan.*Air Koryo, a North Korean airline company....

-dynasty stone bridge located in Kaesong

Kaesong

Kaesŏng is a city in North Hwanghae Province, southern North Korea , a former Directly Governed City, and the capital of Korea during the Koryo Dynasty. The city is near Kaesŏng Industrial Region and it contains the remains of the Manwoldae palace. It was formally named Songdo while it was the...

, North Korea

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

. Built in 1290, it is famous as the place where famed Confucian scholar and statesman Jeong Mong-ju

Jeong Mong-ju

Jeong Mongju , often known by his pen name Poeun, was a Korean civil minister and scholar during the late period of the Goryeo dynasty.-Biography:He was born in Yeongcheon, Gyeongsang province to a family from the Yeongil Jeong clan...

 was assassinated, allegedly on the orders of the son of Yi Songgye

Taejong of Joseon

King Taejong was the third king of the Joseon Dynasty in Korea and the father of King Sejong the Great.-Founding of Joseon:...

, first king of the Joseon Dynasty

Joseon Dynasty

Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...

. The bridge was closed to all traffic in 1780 and has since been a national monument.

Assassination of Jong Mongju

A famously loyal advisor to the king of Koryo, Jong was a staunch political opponent of Yi Songgye. On his way home after a party held for him by the future king, he was ambushed by five men on the bridge and brutally murdered with an iron hammer. Later canonized as a Korean sage, and revered even by Joseon monarchs, Jong's death came to symbolize unwavering loyalty. A brown spot on one of the stones is said to be Jong's bloodstain, and to become red when it rains. A famous poem of his records his final thoughts:

Even if I may die, die a hundred times,

Even if my skeleton may become dust and dirt,

And whether my spirit may be there or not,

My single-hearted loyalty to my lord will not change.

Pyochung Pavilion

Built during the Joseon dynasty, this small wooden structure houses two enormous stone stele mounted on the backs of lion-turtles, one erected in 1740 by King Yongjo and the other by King Kojong in 1872. Both commemorate Jong Mongju's assassination, and praise his loyalty to the Koryo dynasty.