Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty
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How it came to be
The Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty are 40 tombs of the House of Yi, which ruled Korea from 1392 to 1910. Spread over 18 locations, they were built over five centuries, from 1408 to 1966, to honour ancestors and assert royal authority.
Sites were chosen by pungsu, Korean geomancy: ideally a hill behind, water to the south and a view of distant ridges. Each tomb has an entrance, a ceremonial area and a burial area, and a gate of two red pillars, the hongsalmun, marks the line between the world of the living and that of the dead. Stone figures of civil and military officials, horses, sheep and tigers stand around the mounds.
Donggureung in Guri holds Geonwolleung, the tomb of the dynasty's founder King Taejo, and Yeongneung in Yeoju holds King Sejong and Queen Soheon. The tombs of Gojong and Sunjong, who reigned as emperors of the Korean Empire, were built to imperial rather than royal rank. Rites are still held every year by royal family associations, and the tombs were inscribed in 2009.
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