Uireung Royal Tomb, Seoul

Basic information

Designation

Historic Site No.204

Category

유적지

Era

조선 경종 4년(1724)

Designated year

1970

Location

성북구, 서울특별시— 서울특별시 성북구 화랑로32길 146-20 (석관동, 문화재청의릉지구관리소)

Coordinates

37.604350, 127.058654

This is the tomb where King Gyeongjong (reigned 1720∼1724), the twentieth king of Joseon and his wife Queen Seonui are buried. Gyeongjong was the son of King Sukjong's concubine, Jang Hui-bin, but he was frail, and four years after acceding to the throne, he passed away. The grave of the king and the queen are placed together, not side by side but top and bottom. Yeongeung, where King Hyojong and Queen Inseon are buried, applied this arrangement for the first time in according with feng shui belief. Instead of a stone screen, a balustrade of 12 rooms is drawn around the king's tomb. The letters for the twelve zodiac deities are engraved in an azimuth circle. Stone sculptures of civil and military officers and animals back up the balustrade. The arrangement and the style are small in size as in Myeongneung. The queen's tomb is constructed like the king's except for the absence of a fence behind it. Some parts of a government building constructed in the 1960's still remain nearby. It is urgent for the royal tomb to have its original appearance restored.

Location