The Mausoleum of King Kongmin, more correctly known as the Hyonjongnung Royal Tomb, is a 14th-century

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

located in Haeson Village,

Kaepung County Kaep'ung County was a county in North Hwanghae Province, North Korea. Formerly part of the Kaesong urban area, the county was merged with North Hwanghae when Kaesong was demoted in 2003. The area is the site of the royal tombs of King Kongmin and ...

just outside the city of

Kaesong Kaesong (, ) is a special city in the southern part of North Korea (formerly in North Hwanghae Province), and the capital of Korea during the Taebong kingdom and subsequent Goryeo dynasty. The city is near the Kaesong Industrial Region close t ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. It is one of the

Royal Tombs of the Goryeo Dynasty The Royal Tombs of the Goryeo Dynasty are a group of tombs of members of the Korean Goryeo Dynasty (918 – 1392). The tombs The royal tombs are scattered around southwestern North Hwanghae Province, with most of them located within 20 kilometers ...

. The site consists of two separate burial mounds, "Hyonnung", which contain the remains of

Gongmin Gongmin of Goryeo (23 May 1330 – 27 October 1374), also known by his Mongolian name, Bayan Temür., was 31st ruler of Goryeo from 1351 to 1374. He was the second son of King Chungsuk. Biography Early life Goryeo had been a semi-autonomou ...

, 31st king of the

Goryeo Dynasty Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

, and "Jongnung", which contains his primary wife, the Mongolian princess

Budashiri Budashiri or Buddhashiri (Mongolian alphabet, Mongolian: ᠪᠦᠳᠬᠠᠱᠢᠷᠢ, , Sinicized as ''Putashali'', ) (born c. 1307 – died c. 1340) was Empress of China and Khatun of Mongols as the wife of Jayaatu Khan Tugh Temür. She act ...

. Nominated for

World Heritage A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

status, it is one of the best preserved royal tombs in

which remains in its original state, having avoided extensive restoration under the Communist government.

History

Construction on the tombs began after Queen Noguk's death in 1365, and was completed seven years later in 1372. The tombs consist of a carved granite base topped with a small hill; they are surrounded by statues of sheep and tigers. The tigers represent fierceness and the sheep represent gentleness; in other words om and yang. The "spirit road" up to the tombs is lined with statues of military officers and Confucian officials. Their placement was an important consideration for the king, and many geomancers, astrologers, and mathematicians were consulted to make sure the site had good feng shui (known as ''pung su'' in

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

). A local tale related how the mountain opposite that on which the tombs sit got its name; When Gongmin's wife died, he hired geomancers to find a perfect location for which to place her tomb. Becoming upset when each one failed to please him, he ordered that the next one to try would be given anything they desired if they succeeded; however, if they failed him he would kill them on the spot. When one young geomancer told him to review a spot outside Kaesong, Gongmin secretly told his advisors that if he waved his handkerchief they should execute the geomancer. While the geomancer took the king's subjects to the spot where the tomb is now located, Gongmin climbed the one opposite to review the site. When he reached the top of the mountain, exhausted, he dabbed his brow and surveyed the area; delightedly, he found it to be perfect and prepared to personally congratulate the young man. However, upon climbing down the mountain he found that the man had been executed; the subjects had seen him wipe his brow and thought that he had wanted the man executed. Hearing of his foolishness, the King exclaimed "Oh, my!"; his subjects then named the mountain this as a memorial to the story. Unfortunately, the tomb's relics were lost in 1905 when the tomb chamber was blasted opened with dynamite and looted by the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

; most of the relics inside were believed to be taken to Japan, though Gongmin's coffin is currently exhibited in the Goryeo Museum in Kaesong. Image:Stone_Sheep_at_King_Kongmin's_Mausoleum.jpg, Stone sheep (yangsok) Image:King_Kongmin's_Tomb.jpg, A statue of Muninseok
(State civil official)

References

External links

vnc.nl

northkorea1on1.com

undemocracy.com

whc.unesco.org
{{coord, 37, 58, 55, N, 126, 28, 23, E, region:KR_type:landmark, display=title Kaesong National Treasures of North Korea Archaeological sites in North Korea Goryeo World Heritage Sites in North Korea Historic Monuments and Sites in Kaesong

History

See also

References

External links