Jeong Ji-hae is acknowledged as the first person to conduct an archaeological excavation in Korea (Joseon) in 1748. Jeong was the father of a governor of Jinju in south-central

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

. He was interested in history and the identity of his forebears. In 1748 Jeong carried out the excavation of six ancient burials dated to the

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

Dynasty (AD 918-1392) (Kim 1986:125). However, he failed to confirm if the personages of the burials were his direct ancestors.

Kim Won-yong Kim Won-yong (1922–1993) was a South Korean archaeologist and art historian. Noted in the discipline of Korean archaeology and ancient art history (Yoon 2006), he was one of the first people recognized as an archaeologist in Korea to receive a ...

regards Jeong's research as the first

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

excavations in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

References

*Kim Won-yong :1986 ''Art and Archaeology of Ancient Korea''. Taekwang, Seoul.

References

See also