Tomb of
Munmu of Silla is an underwater tomb, the 30th king of
Silla, in
Gyeongju
Gyeongju ( ko, 경주, ), historically known as ''Seorabeol'' ( ko, 서라벌, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, ...
,
North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. This is Historic Site No. 158, also known as Daewang-am.
Location
The tomb of Munmu of Silla is located in 26, Bonggil-ri,
Yangbuk-myeon, Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. It is located 200 meters off the coast of Bonggil-ri in Yangbuk-myeon.
Appearance
It is the only underwater tomb in the world. It looks like normal rocks from a distance. There is a smaller rock to the south. The area is surrounded by small rocks that are only seen at low tide intervals, making them look like stone beams. It is owned by the
Gyeongju National Museum. The monument collapsed early, and two large sections and one small stone were discovered so far, but one stone is not handed over. The stone is a reddish-brown igneous rock with a maximum height of 52 cm, 64 cm wide and 24 cm thick, and the small section is carved with a 2-legged triangle.
'
Underwater tomb
The tomb of Munmu of Silla is located on the sea. To see the tomb, one must go to a rare and mysterious tomb built between small rocks in the middle of the sea. Although the tomb of Munmu of Silla looks like a small rocky island from a distance, it is located on the rock, and it is like a pond in the middle. The rock is built at regular intervals like a pillar, and a large building looks like a turtle. Water flows in and out of the pond in all directions, as the waters that flow in and out of the lake slowly turn around and out to the west. It is believed that the Silla people artificially refined the royal tomb of Munmu of Silla.
History
Silla Dynasty
Munmu of Silla' unified the
Three Kingdoms of Korea, but he was worried about the safety of unstable countries and the invasion of
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. When Japan broke out on the
Sea of Korea
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...
and killed and pillaged the people, 'Munmu of Silla' began to build temples while increasing military and defense facilities on the east coast. The idea was to defeat the Japanese people with the help of Buddha. But before the temple was finished, 'Munmu of Silla' became ill. 'Munmu of Silla' called his son before his death. "If I die, Bury me in Donghae (Sea of Korea). So when he died, but left a will to the of his body be cremated in accordance with Buddhist ceremony to bury the ashes the Sea of Korea. It is called , and it is the Tomb of Munmu of Silla.
In this way, 'Munmu of Silla' will become a great dragon and protect the country. His remains from the land in accordance with
Munmu of Silla's will be cremated and the Sea of Korea of with and frugal lifestyle he paid funeral. When 'Munmu of Silla' died before completing the temple, his son King
Sinmun completed it in 682. And he named it " " to thank 'Munmu of Silla's grace.
Cho geung-seop(조긍섭), who toured
Gyeongju
Gyeongju ( ko, 경주, ), historically known as ''Seorabeol'' ( ko, 서라벌, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, ...
from 1918 to 1926 during
Korea under Japanese rule
Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan. Joseon Korea had come into the Japanese sphere of influence with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876; a complex coalition of the Meiji government, military, and business offic ...
, wrote a poem using the tomb of
Munmu of Silla. In his poem, Munmu of Silla instructed him to cremate in the Sea of Korea with dying words. People suspected he might have designated such a big tomb. However, people guess that the cremate might have caused him to bury his bones and become a big tomb. He will not get a place like this without great virtue.
A tale of Manpasikjeok
Sinmun of Silla built for his father,
Munmu of Silla. In 682, a public official said 'Small mountain in Donghae is coming to Gameunsa'. According to the fortune-telling, King
Munmu of Silla, who became the dragon of the sea, and
Gim Yu-sin, who became the king of heaven, said, " Go out and take the present." When he came and saw at , it looked like a turtle's head and had bamboo on it, divided into two by day and combined into one by night. Nine days after the storm, the king entered the mountain and the dragon said, "If you made a flute out of that bamboo, the whole world would be at ease." So he took it out, made a flute and kept it. The name of this flute is
Manpasikjeok
The ''daegeum'' (also spelled ''taegum'', ''daegum'' or ''taegŭm'') is a large bamboo flute, a transverse flute used in traditional Korean music. It has a buzzing membrane that gives it a special timbre. It is used in court, aristocratic, and f ...
. The reason for the name is that when the country is worried, he played the flute and country has become quiet.
Tombstone
Unlike most royal tombs,
Munmu of Silla's
tombstone could not be placed in front of them. He was buried in rocks of the Donghae. It is assumed that Munmu of Silla's tombstone was built at Sacheonwang Temple, a place that was closely related to
Munmu of Silla's life. Based on the excavation research, the two royal tombs are believed to be Sacheonwang Temple Historical Hall and Munmu of Silla's Royal Palace. Sacheonwang Temple also appears on the side of
Gyeongmyeong of Silla of
Samguk sagi
''Samguk Sagi'' (, ''History of the Three Kingdoms'') is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The ''Samguk Sagi'' is written in Classical Chinese, the written language of the literati of ancient Korea, ...
, which appears to have been maintained until
silla collapsed.
However, with the fall of Silla,
Munmu of Silla's tombstone has become unknown. However, the existence was confirmed by Hong Yang-ho, then a member of the Gyeongju Buyun, in 1760, and was reconfirmed by Chusa
Gim Jeong-hui
Gim Jeong-hui (김정희, 金正喜, born on the 3rd day of the 6th lunar month 1786, died on the 10th day of the 10th lunar month 1856), also known as Kim Jeong-hui, was one of the most celebrated practitioners of calligraphy, epigraphists, an ...
, who visited Gyeongju in 1817. The lower part of tombstone was discovered in 1961, and the higher part of tombstone was discovered by a gas inspector when it was used as a laundry stone in a house in eastern
Gyeongju
Gyeongju ( ko, 경주, ), historically known as ''Seorabeol'' ( ko, 서라벌, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, ...
in 2009.
2017
In 2017, the tomb of Munmu of Silla was selected 'the top 10 tourist contents of
North Gyeongsang Province'.
Festival
Chunhyang Daeje
in Tomb of Munmu of Silla means commemorative rites for ancestors in early spring. The festival is held to inherit the spirit of national defense, to celebrate the king and attract tourists, organized by residents. More than 900 people participated, including heads of government, citizens, and tourists.
Sunrise festival
Every New Year's Day,
Gyeongju
Gyeongju ( ko, 경주, ), historically known as ''Seorabeol'' ( ko, 서라벌, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, ...
hold the sunrise festival at the tomb of King
Munmu of Silla. The sunrise festival, which was held in 2015, was called 'The sunrise festival of tomb of King Munmu of Silla in Gyeongju'
King Munmu culture festival
The city of
gyeongju
Gyeongju ( ko, 경주, ), historically known as ''Seorabeol'' ( ko, 서라벌, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, ...
held various traditional cultural events in front of the tomb of King
Munmu of Silla in honor of the great king Munmu. On the first day of the event, the royal procession from Gameunsaji to the Tomb of King Munmu of Silla was reenacted. And There were flying kites, and performing rituals on the king of Munmu.
Succession
ROKS Munmu the Great (DDH-976) is the second
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort
larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...
in the
South Korean
navy. It was named after the king
Munmu
Munmu of Silla (626–681; reigned 661–681) was the 30th king of the Korean kingdom of Silla. He is usually considered to have been the first ruler of the Unified Silla period. Munmu was the son of King Muyeol and Munmyeong, who was the young ...
of
Silla. The ship was named after King
Munmu of Silla, which is about 500 tons larger than that of
Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin-class destroyer.
Gallery
File:문무대왕릉의 아침.jpg,
File:문무대왕릉의 천년의 빛.jpg,
File:운해속의 문무대왕릉.jpg,
File:정월대보름의 문무대왕릉.jpg,
File:Tomb of King Munmu(문무대왕릉).jpg,
Neighboring cultural assets
Gameunsaji
is a Historic Site No. 31. And it is a temple site that was made for
Munmu of Silla, who unified
Three Kingdoms of Korea and be the
dragon of the East Sea. It was discovered that the temple was deployed as a two-board temple in 1959. In the second excavation, it was reconstructed on two occasions after the first one in 1979 and 1980.
Igyeondae
is Historic Site No. 159. It is located in front of Gamgeunsa Temple Site, where the tomb of
Munmu of Silla, who achieved unification of the
Three Kingdoms of Korea, is seen.
[{{Cite web, url=http://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Contents/SearchNavi?keyword=%EC%9D%B4%EA%B2%AC%EB%8C%80&ridx=0&tot=2267, title=이견대(利見臺), website=Encyclopedia of Korea Culture, language=ko, trans-title=Igyeondae, access-date=2018-06-10]
See also
*
History of Korea
The Lower Paleolithic era in the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria began roughly half a million years ago.
Christopher J. Norton, "The Current State of Korean Paleoanthropology", (2000), ''Journal of Human Evolution'', 38: 803–825.
The earlies ...
References
Burials at sea
Islands of North Gyeongsang Province
Islands of the Sea of Japan
Silla
Buildings and structures in Gyeongju
Tourist attractions in Gyeongju