Study of the Actual Condition of Gyeonggijeon Management through Official Documents between 1907-1910

This paper has examined the actual condition of the management of Gyeonggijeon where the portrait of King Taejo, the founder of the Joseon Dynasty has been shrined since the foundation of the Korean Empire centering around the official documents written in Gyeonggijeon. After the foundation of the Korean Empire, Gyeonggijeon was managed and controlled by Jongbaekbu of Gungnaebu. However, Jangryewon began to take charge of the institute from 1895 when the government offices were reorganized, and Jeonhyanggwa of Jangryewon took over the management of Gyeonggijeon from 1907. Jeonsabo was the head of the management, and ritual ceremonies for the King's portrait were reduced to two times a year. All the documents relevant to Gyeonggijeon have been collected and kept in the museum of Chonbuk National University. According to those documents, two officials, Jangryewongyeong and Jangryewonjusa (official titles), were in charge of all the tasks of Gyeonggijeon, for which the document forms like instructions, notifications, and reports were used. The main duty of Jeonsabo was holding ritual ceremonies, which were divided into three kinds: the regular ones which were hold two times a year; Sakmangbunhyangre (ritual ceremonies held every 1st and 15th), and Bongsimrye (ritual ceremonies held every five days). Budgets for the management of Gyeonggijeon were made and transmitted per month or quarter. They could receive the next budget amount after sending the specifications of the previous expenses. Their accounts had to be submitted and tallied, and documentary evidence should be attached. The official management of Gyeonggijeon was stopped on August 29th, 1910, but it was continuously managed under the name of clearing up the remaining business. When the organization to control the royal family of the Joseon Dynasty (Yiwangjikje) was found in December 1910, Gyeonggijeon was incorporated into it.