Chiryeon Righteous Army Burial Mound

About this place

Chiryeon Uichong is the collective burial mound of the fallen soldiers of Shin Myeong-seon's righteous army unit, located 0.1 km from Unban-dae at Tongam Village in Deogyu Mountain, Muju-gun, on the left side of the valley. In 1907, when the Jeongnimil Treaty (Hague Secret Mission Treaty) was forcibly concluded by Japan and our military was disbanded, angered former soldiers of the Seoul garrison scattered throughout the country to fight back. At this time, Shin Myeong-seon, a former garrison infantryman, recruited a righteous army using Deogyu Mountain as a base and fought Japanese forces in Muju, Jangsu, Sunchang, Yongdam, Geochang and surrounding areas, achieving numerous feats. Shin Myeong-seon's unit initially numbered just over 40 when first raised, but gradually grew to a force of about 150 righteous army fighters. In April 1908, after winning a battle in Jangsu — killing 15 Japanese soldiers and wounding 20 — Shin Myeong-seon's unit was resting at Songjeon in the Chiryeon Valley when they were ambushed by lurking Japanese forces, and all 150 members met their heroic end.