Seolleung and Jeongneung Royal Tombs [UNESCO World Heritage]

Seolleung (宣陵) is the royal tomb of King Seongjong, the 9th monarch of the Joseon Dynasty, and his third queen, Queen Jeonghyeon of the Yun clan. Seolleung is in the form of Dongwonigangneung (同原異岡陵), where two burial mounds are placed on different hills within the same tomb area, sharing a single pavilion (jeongjagak). When viewed from the front of the pavilion, the left hill (west) holds King Seongjong, and the right hill (east) holds Queen Jeonghyeon. Seolleung was built in 1495, the year after King Seongjong passed away in 1494, at its current location in Hakdang-ri, Gwangju. Originally, this site was the tomb of Grand Prince Gwangpyeong, the son of King Sejong the Great (the 4th monarch), but when Seolleung was established, Grand Prince Gwangpyeong's tomb was moved to Suseo-dong, Gangnam-gu. Later, in 1530, when Queen Jeonghyeon passed away, her tomb was built on the eastern hill of Seolleung. During the Japanese invasions of Korea (Imjin Waeran) in 1592, Japanese forces dug up the tombs of Seolleung, and even the outer coffin (jaegung) was burned. As a result, a reburial was conducted in July 1593.

Jeongneung (靖陵) is the royal tomb of King Jungjong, the 11th monarch of the Joseon Dynasty. King Jungjong passed away in 1544, and in the following year, 1545, his tomb was built on the western hill of Queen Janggyeong's Heolleung (now the site of King Cheoljong's Yereung within Seosamneung in Goyang), and the tomb was named Jeongneung along with Heolleung. However, in 1562, Queen Munjeong, the third queen of King Jungjong, moved Jeongneung to its current location. Queen Munjeong discussed this with the monk Bou, then the abbot of Bongeunsa Temple, and moved King Jungjong's tomb here because she herself wished to be buried with King Jungjong. However, since the relocated Jeongneung was in a low-lying area and frequently flooded when it rained, Queen Munjeong was buried not in Jeongneung but in Taereung in Nowon-gu, Seoul, after her death. As a result, the tombs of King Jungjong and his three queens (Queen Dangyeong, Queen Janggyeong, and Queen Munjeong) are all scattered separately. Like Seolleung, Jeongneung was also dug up during the Japanese invasions in 1592, and the outer coffin was burned. A reburial was conducted in August 1593.