Friday, March 29, 2024
KOREAN HISTORYTRAVEL

Tomb of King Sejong the Great in Yeoju

updated Aug 2018

king sejong tomb

The tomb of King Sejong the Great (Yoengneung) is in Yeoju, about an hour away from Seoul by bus.  King Sejong’s Queen, Queen Soheon, is also buried here and this is the first Joseon joint tomb for King and Queen.

King Sejong is the most revered of all the Joseon Kings. He reigned for 32-years and during his reign culture and technology flourished. He created the Korean alphabet, (see Drama Deep Rooted Tree) set up the Hall of Worthies (Jiphyeonjeon, 집현전), and made developments in politics, economy, society and culture. 

This a popular place for families and school trips so you might have to battle your way through the crowds! As well as the tomb set in wide open space, there’s a museum where you can see reproductions of Joseon paintings and traditional Joseon musical instruments. In the grounds at the entrance to the area are replicas of other scientific devices that were invented during King Sejong’s reign including a rain gauge, a celestial globe, and a sundial.

There are several other interesting places to visit in the area too, including King Hyojong’s tomb, Silleuksa temple (the only riverside temple in Korea), and the birthplace of Empress Myeongseong.

 

The tomb is up on a hill surrounded by pine trees following geomantic rules

Geomancy ( 풍수지리 pungsu-jiri)

The Art of Geomancy (feng shui) was taken very seriously during the Joseon period and amongst the 40 Joseon tombs this is said to be in the TOP 4 in geomantic terms. 

Korean geomancy or feng shui (pungsu-jiri) is all about the flow of the earth’s energy (ki). Landmarks in nature like mountains, trees, and water help create the most auspicious environment for the flow of ki. And the placement of buildings is important too. So since this tomb is in the top 4, it must mean  that the ki energy is flowing well here…

The entrance

We paid 500 won to get in, which I thought was very cheap. I noticed at the entrance there was a dial on a board showing the likelihood of fire for the day. The blue zone means that the risk is low. (well, there had been some rain and snow earlier in the day) Red is the danger-zone.

Understandably there is a huge concern here about fires, since all the buildings are wooden. There were ‘no smoking’ signs and fire extinguishers everywhere.

At the entrance (on the left side) a sign shows today’s risk of fire – low

훈민문 Hunmin Mun

We began at the Hunmin mun – the entrance gate to the tomb. There are two entrances at either side of the gate, but a sign tells us that we must enter from the east gate (to the left) and exit through the west gate (right).

(this must be something to do with geomantics again – entering gates through the east and exiting through the west was the rule in Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul too.)

홍살문 Hongsalmun

 ‘Red Arrow Gate’ marks the sacred zone separating inner and outer world

The long path up to the tombs is in a spacious area and surrounded by pine trees. The centre part of the pathway is raised higher as always especially for the king to walk on. Then we reach the memorial gate called Hongsalmun ‘Red Arrow Gate’, where the red posts with arrow-like spikes indicate the beginning of the sacred area.

According to the information sign here, Joseon Royal tombs traditionally had a little stream in front of them marking the sacred zone between the inner and the outer world where the king’s spirit resides. Because, according to geomantic principles, water prevents fierce land energy from mountains from making further progress. So in front of the gate is the Geumcheongyo Bridge 금천교 over the Geumcheongyo ‘Forbidden River’.

Jeongjagak 정자각

This is the building where memorial services are held and food offerings placed on the memorial table. Again there is a sign that clearly states which set of steps we should go up to the the building and which steps we should use to come back down.

(We were following the rules but other people were ignoring the sign!)

There’s a storehouse near here for ritual vessels and living quarters for the grave keeper. Then there are more steps leading up to the tomb. The tomb itself is surrounded by stone guardians. And there’s a feeling of peace looking out across the open space.

Yaegam 예감

After the memorial rites are completed and while the food offerings are being removed, the invocation paper (used during the ceremony) is burned in this square stone box called the Yaegam. It’s always located at the rear west of the jeongjagak.

(I didn’t even notice this until it was pointed out to me!) 

the yaegam stone box at the bottom of the hill 

This tomb is a great example of what a Joseon tomb should be – it’s in a spacious area, mountains in the background, a stream in front, and trees all around. It’s a large complex for a king who achieved a lot. At the other end of the spectrum in the world of tombs is the tomb of the disgraced tyrant King, Yeonsangun. We visited the tomb of Yeonsangun in the north of the city. It’s low key.

Take a look at some of our other tomb trips. On our trip to King Sukjong and Jang Hee Bin’s tombs we walked around spacious grounds to see the tombs of several kings and queens and concubines. Most of the Royal tombs are outside Seoul but there are  tombs in central Seoul too.

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