UNESCO World Heritage Sites & Seonjeongneung (선정릉)
The 33rd session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) ended last week with the inscription of 40 Joseon-era royal tombs as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. To mark the occasion as if I needed the excuse I made the journey down to Seoul to visit Seonjeongneung on Saturday. In commemoration of the WHC's decision and subsequent inscription, the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea is waiving entrance fees to all the royal tombs through 12 July. Even without the free admission I would definitely encourage everyone to go and check out the tombs when time allows. How often can you say you've been to a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
In addition to the physical presence of the tombs - and the surrounding shrines devoted to the respective rulers - there's also a bit of intangible cultural heritage involved as well. Within the tomb complex at Seonjeongneung is Jaesil, where offerings are presented to members of the Joseon royal family. From the information sign at the building,
At present, Daedong-Jongyakwon of the Lees of Jeonju uses Jaesil as the main floored room in order to perform religious rites and burn incense for the royal tombs of Seongjeong the Great, Queen consort Jeonghyeon, and Jungjong the Great.
As noted above, Seonjeongneung contains the remains of two Joseon kings and one queen. King Seongjeong was the ninth ruler of the Joseon Dynasty (r. 1469-1494) and Queen consort Jeonghyeon Jeheon - also known as Lady Yun - was his second wife. His first wife, Queen Gonghye of the Cheongju Han clan died in 1474 at the age of 18 and is buried in the eup of Munsan, in Paju. Queen Jeonghyeon Jeheon is the mother of Yeonsangun - whose tomb I mention here.
The other tomb belongs to King Jungjong, eleventh ruler of the Joseon Dynasty (r. 1506-1544). Jungjong made efforts to reform the government following the decay of his his half-brother Yeonsangun's reign. However, he was forced to exile Jo Gwang-jo and execute Jo's followers in what later became known as the Gimyo Massacre of Scholars. (The Korean gets translated as "purge [massacre] of the Confucian literati" in my phone's electronic dictionary.) Of course, Seoswaewon in Jeollanam-do was built as a reaction to the Gimyo Massacre, so I guess some good did come out of it.
You can see more photos from my visit on Flickr here. To reach Seonjeongneung take Line 2 (Green) or the Bundang Line to Seulleung Station and leave through Exit 8. Follow the road for a few blocks and you'll be able to see the entrance to the tomb complex. Summer entrance hours are from 06:00-20:00 and viewing hours end at 21:00. The site is closed on Mondays.
Edited on 19 March 2010 to fix an error pointed out by a reader.