This national seal was stamped on king’s instructions conveyed to the provincial governors or military commanders of Joseon. These type of documents were always issued along with 密符 (milbu, a secret wooden plaque) which only the recipients would recognize.
The documents were issued on a diverse array of occasions: when provincial governors were rewarded for their achievements in the light of their work reports; when the king admonished his family members, government officials, and the commoners; and when provincial officials were summoned to the capital by the king.

Engraved on the seal are “諭書之寶” (‘yuseojibo’ meaning “the seal of king’s instructions”). According to Boinso Uigwe (the Royal Protocol on the Royal Seals), the seal is one of the eleven royal and national seals of Joseon (1392-1897) remolded and repaired in 1876. It was finally returned to Korea in 2014 sixty years after having been taken out of the country, and is the only extant seal of its kind.