User:K Thandar Win/sandbox

= Royal Tombs in South Korea = Royal Tombs in South Korea show the work of the ancient culture of Korean and civilization thrive. Old Koreans built royal tombs to show their honor and respect their ancestors and achievements and affirm their royal authority. Another purpose of building a tomb was to wish the interred a peaceful afterlife. Kings chose the locations of the burial sites by themselves while they were alive or by Pungsu experts’ choices after their death. Constructing the tombs needs lots of money, people and time. For example, it took over six months to prepare the body for funeral and thousands of workers were needed to build tombs and carry the body to the burial site.

There are three main parts in royal tombs. They are the part around Jeongjagak that is the meeting point between the dead and living, the area just past the gate that is the space between the earthly and holy, and the sacred ground of the grave mounds. Apart from the burial mounds, associated buildings are also integral parts of the tombs. The tombs from Joseon era (1392-1910) completes the 5000-years history of royal tombs architecture in the Korean peninsula.

There are some famous royal tombs among many royal tombs located in Korea. They are " King Sejong’s royal tomb"," King Jeongjo’s royal tomb"," Royal tomb of Royal Nobel Consort Uibin Seong of King Jeongjo '' and "Royal tombs of King Gojong and his wife Empress Myeongseung".

The Great King Sejong(세종 대왕)

Koreans credit King Sejong (세종대왕), the 4th ruler of the Joseon Dynasty who reigned from 1418 to 1450, as being one of the greatest King of the Joseon Dynasty. King Sejong and his wife Queen Soheon were buried together in the royal tomb. It’s original location was in Naegok-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul, but relocated to Yeoju in 1468. The representation styles of King Sejong’ s royal mausoleum is one of the best in the Joseon Dynasty. There have two headstones that show the king and queen have been buried together and 12 zodiac signs are inscribed on the 12 stone pillars surrounding the grave. An eight-sided hanging lantern is located in the center of the mausoleum. Also, a small house for offering sacrifices to the King and a royal kitchen for preparing food is below the mausoleum. Nearby this small house is a house where the guards used to stay and tomb stones have been constructed in the east of the sacrificial house. The design of King Sejong’ s tombs is excellent and we all can see some of KingSejong’s greatest achievements in this place. King Sejong’s tombs are as authentic as historical sites.

King Jeongjo of Joseon(정조대왕)

King Jeongjo(1752-1800) was born to Crown Prince Sado and Lady Hyegyeong in Gyeongchunjeon Hall, Changgyeong Palace, Hanseong, Kingdom of Joseon. His birth name was Yisan(이산).

King Jeongjo is one of the greatest Kings of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. King Jeongjo, the 22nd ruler of the Joseon Era, is one of the most respected and visionary rulers of this period.

He is regarded as the "Reformation Ruler" in Joseon because of his attempts to reform and improve the whole nation and the renaissance.

He is also known for his love and kindness to his people and many innovations which he tried to bring to the Joseon Kingdom.

The most prominent action of King Jeongjo is an implementation of tangpyeongchaek(탕평책).

Tangpyeongchaek is an engagement policy toward rival factions, which was intended to give people equal footing in Politics.

He also Established Gyujanggak(규장각), an imperial library, which served as an important part of his reform efforts to improve the cultural and political stance of Joseon. Library also stood to lessen the power of various wealthy aristocrats, those who always tried to plague the Joseon Area. Another of his greatest attempts is Hwaseong Fortress(화성), which was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997.

In 1800,King Jeongjo died in Changgyeong Palace at the age of 47. At first,King Jeongjo was buried on a hill to the east of Yungneung, then named

Hyeollyungwon. But after the death of his wife, Queen Hyoui, his body was exhumed and moved to the Geolleung(건릉). It is one of the UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE.It is located in Hwaseong City,Gyeonggi State of South Korea.

Address:

21, Hyohaeng-ro 481beon-gil, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do

경기도 화성시 효행로481번길 21 (안녕동)

Royal Nobel Consort Uibin Seong of King Jeongjo( 의빈 성씨)

Royal Noble Consort Ui (1753-1786) was a beloved of King Jeongjo of Joseon and also the mother of Crown Prince Munhyo.

She was born in 1753. Her personal name was Deok-im(덕임). She was the daughter of Seong Yun-u and Lady Im from Changnyeong Seong Clan.

In her age of 10, Lady Seong Deok-im entered the Royal Palace to be trained as a 궁녀(gungnyeo),means Court Lady who served the king and his family in the Palace. A few years after her entered,the Crown Prince Jeongjo confessed his feelings to her at the age of 14,but she refused it.

Lady Im's Palace Life is full of means. During her life as an Gungnyeo,Deok-im transcribed gwagjangyangmunro (곽장양문록)

(comprising 10 volumes, 10 books)  to Korean, which was the Classic novel, with princess "Cheongyeon and Cheongseon", who were little sisters of Crown Prince Jeongjo and her fellow Lady-in-Waiting " Young-hee, Kyung-hee, and Bok-yeon."

In 1782, Jeongjo proposed to Lady Seong again. But, in this time She refused it too.But in the third time of his confession,she accepted Jeongjo's grace.She was the only woman who King Jeongjo chose willingly in his whole lifetime.Then, Lady Seong gave birth to the first child, Yi Sun (이순) om the same day,

Lady Seong became a Royal Consort of King Jeongjo.

Her son Yi Sun was invested as an Crown Prince of Joseon in 1984. Then she became the first senior rank of Bin(빈)

and Jeongjo personally chose the prefix "Ui" (의meaning "appropriate/fitting") for her. Her Royal Title name become Uibin Seong(의빈 성).

After 2 years, Crown Prince Munhyo died at the age of 4 years. Four months after the death of her Crown-Prince son, Uibin Seong died during the last month of her fifth pregnancy in her age of 34.The unborn child died with her.

After her death,King Jeongjo wrote an epitaph for his beloved Uibin, where he described his grief and declared his love for her. It was said that Uibin Seong was the only woman he loved amongst his wives. Uibin Seong' s mortuary was set up at Anhyeon Palace about 100steps from Her son, Crown Prince Munhyo and called those Royal Tombs as Hyochangwon(효창원).These two Royal Tombs are listed UNESCO World Heritage.

Address:

177-18, Hyochangwon-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

서울특별시 용산구 효창원로 177-18 (효창동) 일대

King Gojong and His Wife Empress Myeongseung of Joseon (고종 대왕)

Hongyureung (홍유릉) refers to the two royal tombs, Hongneung and Yureung, which are both located in the same historic, No.207. Hongneung is the royal tomb of King Gojong and His Wife Empress Myeongseung.

King Gojong was born on 8 September 1952 from Heungseon Daewongun and Grand Internal Princess Consort Sunmok of the Yeoheung Min Clan. He was ruled as a regent in early 1864 when he was twelve years old. King Gojong was the 26 ruler and the last king of Joseon. In 1897, he declared Korea to be the “ Daehan Empire” and became the first emperor of Korea. In 1919, Emperor Gojong died in Deoksugung Palace at the age of 67.

Empress Myeongseong, known informally as Queen Min, was the first official wife of King Gojong. She was born on 17 November 1851 from Min Chi rok, Internal Prince Yeoseong and Internal Princess Consort Hansan Yi clan. She Became the empress in 1866. At that time, Korea was not actually governed by King Gojong, but by his father, Heungseon Daewongun. In 1873, when King Gojong began to administer state affairs, Empress Myeongseung exercised considerable power and deeply participated in political affairs. At that time, Korea was under the pressure of Japan and the government of Meiji Japan considered Empress Myeongseung an obstacle to its overseas expansion. Her diplomatic policy was in obvious favour of Russia and that angered Japan. That’s why she was killed by Japanese assassins in 1895.

At first, Hongneung was the tomb of Empress Myeongseung, and it was located in Cheongnyangni, Seoul. When Emperor Gojong died, he was buried together with the previously deceased empress and the tomb was moved to its current place.

The tomb of them, Hongneung, looks different from other royal tombs. Moreover, the tomb of the emperor was modeled after the tomb of the Ming dynasty’s ruler, King Taizu ( Zhu Yuanzhang). The current status of Hongneung tomb is Historic No. 207 and was designated on May 26, 1970. The difference of hongneung is that surrounding the Hongneung tomb is statues carved in the shape of animals such as giraffes, elephants, and lions, which can’t be seen at the other royal tombs of the Joseon dynasty. Therefore, the stonework of Hongneung tomb was made in a traditional way and one of the UNESCO World Heritage. You can visit there from 9:00 – 18:00 in February – May and September – October, and from November – August, the opening hours are from 9:00 – 18:30, 9:00 -17:30 from November – Januaryand closed on every Monday. You can visit within one hour and you can buy a ticket one hour before closing. The admission fees are divided into two types. If the visitors come in individual, 1000 Won for adults and 500 Won for children or in groups type, 800 Won for adults and 400 Won for children. The visitors can get free admission who are preschoolers ( age 6 years and younger), senior citizens ( age 65 years and older), the one wearing hanbok and on culture day ( last Wednesday of the month).

Address : 352-1, Hongyureung-ro, Namyangju-si, Gyeonggi-do

경기도 남양주시 홍유릉로 352-1.

Transportation : Subway Line 1, Cheongnyangni Station, Exit 4; take bus 165-3, 2227, 30, 65, 165, 9201, 9205, 330-1, 765, or 3330.