Joseon Royal Tomb Museum Opens
KOREA TIMES
12-28-2009 17:45
 An exhibition hall at the Royal Tomb Museum of the Joseon Dynasty, which opened on Dec. 24 in Gongneung-dong, northern Seoul. / Courtesy of Cultural
Heritage Administration |
By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter
The Royal Tomb Museum of the Joseon Dynasty has been unveiled, two years after construction began in 2007.
The museum, which is located inside the site of Taereung, the royal tomb of Queen Munjeong, consort to King Jungjong, was designed to help people gain a deeper understanding of the royal tombs and their historical significance.
The exhibition hall showcases the state funeral process, as well as the history and thoughts of the times as reflected in the tombs, rituals and period art.
The Cultural Heritage Administration said that the museum reproduces the entire process of the ancient funeral rites from the death of a king and the launch of the funeral preparation committee to the building of the memorial shrine, the new king’s accession to the throne and the burial of the body and the king’s belongings.
It also presents information on the structure of the royal tombs, changes in the tombs’ architecture, and the life of the tombs’ guards and officials who served at the rituals.
In accordance with geomancy, the tombs typically have their backs protected by a hill and face south toward the water. Alongside the burial area, the royal tombs feature a ceremonial area and an entrance. In addition to the burial mounds, associated buildings that are an integral part of the tombs include a T-shaped wooden shrine, a shed for stone carvings, a royal kitchen and a guards’ house, a red-spiked gate and the tomb keeper’s house. The grounds are adorned on the outside with a range of stone objects including figures of people and animals.
A group of 40 royal tombs from the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) were registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site in the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in Seville, Spain on June 26, becoming South Korea’s ninth UNESCO-designated treasure.
Spread throughout Seoul and Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces, the Joseon royal tombs were meticulously preserved by court officials during the kingdom’s reign of 519 years. The royal tombs house 27 generations of the kingdom’s kings, queens and posthumously designated rulers.