Seonjeongneung

This article is about the Seonjeongneung burial grounds. For the Seoul subway stations, see Seonjeongneung Station and Seolleung Station.
Seolleung and Jeongneung

Panorama photo of the tomb site
Location Seoul, South Korea
Coordinates 37°30′32″N 127°02′57″E / 37.50889°N 127.04917°E / 37.50889; 127.04917Coordinates: 37°30′32″N 127°02′57″E / 37.50889°N 127.04917°E / 37.50889; 127.04917
Governing body Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea
Type Cultural
Criteria iii, iv, vi
Designated 2009 (33rd session)
Reference no. 1319
State Party  South Korea
Region Asia and Australasia
Seolleung and Jeongneung in Seoul, South Korea
Seonjeongneung
Hangul 선정릉
Hanja
Revised Romanization Seonjeongneung
McCune–Reischauer Sŏnchŏngnŭng

The Seonjeongneung is the burial grounds of two Joseon Dynasty kings and one Joseon queen. The westernmost tomb belongs to King Seongjong (r. 1469–1494), the ninth king of the Joseon dynasty.[1] His first wife, Queen Han, died at age 18 and is buried near Munsan, north of Seoul. His second wife, Queen Jeonghyeon (貞顯王后, 1462–1530), from the Yun family, is buried here because she gave birth the king's second son (the future King Jungjong) in 1506.[2] Queen Jeonghyeon outlived her husband by 35 years and was buried in a splendid tomb to the east of her husband. Her grave has a stone fence encircling the mound, whereas her husband's tomb, on the left, has a retaining wall as well. Statues of civilian and military officials and their horses stand at attention in front of the graves. South of the tombs is a single T-shaped shrine of the type commonly found at Joseon-era royal tombs. There are also several ancillary buildings for storing material used in sacrifices.

Queen Jeonghyeon had a deep interest in Buddhism and founded the nearby temple Bongeunsa.

The other tomb on the site is Jeongneung tomb, located at the easternmost of the site. This is the burial ground of King Jungjong, the 11th king of Joseon (r. 1506–1544). He was a son of Seongjong, and was originally buried at Goyang near Munsan, north of Seoul. However, his third queen thought it would be better to have him re-interred closer to his father. She expressed a wish to be buried alongside him, but this wish was never carried out, and his tomb stands alone.

References

See also

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