Memorial Stele for Filial Son Songdo | Attraction Guide

Songdo was a filial son from the Yeonan Song clan who lived in Ulsan during the early Joseon period. He was the first person from Ulsan to pass the civil service exam and devotedly cared for his ailing parents for over ten years. When his parents died within a year of each other, he personally carried earth and stones to build their graves, and constructed a shrine following Confucian rites to enshrine their spirit tablets, paying respects every dawn and performing ancestral rites on schedule. At a time when Buddhist-style funerals were common, Songdo's filial piety stood out remarkably. This was reported to the court, and in the 10th year of King Sejong, he was officially recognized and commended as a filial son. These facts are recorded in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty and Sinjeung Dongguk Yeoji Seungnam. The village name Hyomun-dong is said to originate from this story. According to the Yeonan Song clan genealogy, the memorial stele was originally in Hyomun-dong, but was moved near the west pond of Ulsan Dohobu in the 13th year of King Yeongjo. The front of the stele reads "Filial Son, Sungkyun Civil Servant Songdo's Memorial Stele," and the back records Songdo's filial deeds. The broken stele to the left is believed to have been erected in the 38th year of King Sukjong. The stele and shrine hall that had been in Ujeong-dong, Jung-gu, were relocated here in 2006. A memorial stele is an honorific monument or gate erected in the local area for loyal subjects, filial sons, or virtuous women.