Seooreung Royal Tombs
서오릉
Five royal tombs and three lesser graves in one wood. Sukjong lies here with two of his queens, and so does Jang Hui-bin — one reign’s cast inside a single set of walls. It opens at 07:00 under the early-admission rule.
Language
Place information
- Korean name
- 서오릉
- Address
- 334-32 Seooreung-ro, Deogyang-gu, Goyang, Gyeonggi-do
- Opening hours
- Feb–May, Sep–Oct 07:00–18:00 (last entry 17:00) Jun–Aug 07:00–18:30 (last entry 17:30) Jan, Nov–Dec 07:00–17:30 (last entry 16:30)
- Closed
- Every Mon (open if it falls on a public holiday; closed the next weekday instead)
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Admission
- ₩1,000
- Operated by
- Royal Palaces and Tombs Centre
Prices
| Adult(domestic visitors 25-64, foreign visitors 19-64) | ₩1,000 |
|---|---|
| Admission(Korean nationals aged 24 and under or 65 and over (photo ID required)) | Free |
| Admission(foreign visitors aged 18 and under or 65 and over) | Free |
| Admission(visitors wearing hanbok, including modernised hanbok) | Free |
| the last Wednesday of each month, Culture Day | Free |
| Group(groups of ten or more) | ₩800 |
Source: Royal Palaces and Tombs Centre — royal tomb admission ·
What to see
History and Culture Hall
Seooreung’s history and culture hall first opened in 2014 and was reorganised in 2019. Its displays cover the Joseon royal tombs as a World Heritage site, Seooreung and the people buried in it, and a VR walk through the precinct.
궁능유적본부 (royal.khs.go.kr, KOGL Type 1)
Myeongneung
Myeongneung is the tomb of Sukjong, the 19th king of Joseon, his second queen Inhyeon of the Min clan and his third queen Inwon of the Kim clan. One T-shaped shrine serves two separate hills, one carrying a twin mound and the other a single one: seen from in front of the shrine, the right hill holds Sukjong and Queen Inhyeon side by side, and the left hill Queen Inwon alone.
궁능유적본부 (royal.khs.go.kr, KOGL Type 1)
Jaesil (Ritual House)
The ritual house is both the working quarters of the officials who managed the tomb and the place where the memorial rites were prepared.
궁능유적본부 (royal.khs.go.kr, KOGL Type 1)
Sugyeongwon
Sugyeongwon is the grave of Lady Yi, a consort of Yeongjo, the 21st king of Joseon, and the mother of Jangjo, who was raised to king posthumously. When she died in 1764 she was buried at Daeyadong in Yangju — the site of today’s Yonsei University in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul — under the name Uiyeolmyo. It was renamed Seonhuimyo in 1788, raised to the rank of won and renamed Sugyeongwon in 1899, and moved here in 1970.
궁능유적본부 (royal.khs.go.kr, KOGL Type 1)
Ingneung
Ingneung is the tomb of Queen Ingyeong of the Kim clan, first queen of Sukjong, the 19th king of Joseon. She died in 1680 and the tomb was laid out the following year on this site, near Gyeongneung. Its shrine is the only one at Seooreung enlarged with wings on either side of the main hall — open bays of columns with no walls between them.
궁능유적본부 (royal.khs.go.kr, KOGL Type 1)
Sunchangwon
Sunchangwon is the grave of Crown Prince Sunhoe, eldest son of Myeongjong, the 13th king of Joseon, and his consort Lady Yun. Prince and consort lie together under one mound. It was built on the example of Gyeongneung, the tomb of Deokjong, and the mound has neither a screen of stone panels nor a balustrade; around it stand civil figures, stone horses, a stone lantern, an offering table and one pair each of stone sheep and tigers.
궁능유적본부 (royal.khs.go.kr, KOGL Type 1)
Gyeongneung
Gyeongneung is the tomb of Deokjong, raised to king posthumously, and his queen Sohye of the Han clan. One T-shaped shrine serves two mounds raised on separate hills: seen from in front of the shrine, the right hill (east) is Deokjong’s and the left hill (west) the queen’s. A royal tomb normally follows the right-above-left rule, which puts the king on the left as you face it — Gyeongneung reverses it.
궁능유적본부 (royal.khs.go.kr, KOGL Type 1)
Daebinmyo
Daebinmyo is the grave of Lady Jang, Oksan Budaebin, a consort of Sukjong, the 19th king of Joseon, and the mother of Gyeongjong, the 20th. When she died in 1701 a grave was made the following year at Injang-ri in Yangju, today’s Inchang-dong in Guri. The site was judged inauspicious, so in 1719 it was moved to Jinhaechon in Gwangju — today’s Munhyeong-ri, Opo-eup — and moved here after 1970.
궁능유적본부 (royal.khs.go.kr, KOGL Type 1)
Hongneung
Hongneung is the tomb of Queen Jeongseong of the Seo clan, first queen of Yeongjo, the 21st king of Joseon. Laying out her tomb, Yeongjo had his own place made ready beside it under the heouje rule, which keeps the right-hand plot empty for the king. But when he died in 1776 his tomb was sited instead at Wolleung within today’s Donggureung, on the ground Hyojong’s former Yeongneung had occupied — so the space to the left of Hongneung’s mound stands empty to this day.
궁능유적본부 (royal.khs.go.kr, KOGL Type 1)
Changneung
Changneung is the tomb of Yejong, the 8th king of Joseon, and his second queen Ansun of the Han clan. It was the first tomb at Seooreung to be built as a royal tomb, with one T-shaped shrine serving two mounds on separate hills: seen from in front of the shrine, the left hill (east) is Yejong’s and the right hill (west) the queen’s. The stone figures at the two mounds are much alike.
궁능유적본부 (royal.khs.go.kr, KOGL Type 1)
History and Culture Hall selected
Nearby
Seosamneung Royal Tombs
Three royal tombs and two princely graves, and beside them the royal placenta chambers gathered here from all over the country under Japanese rule — where what became of them can be seen at once.
Oil Tank Culture Park
Oil reserve tanks that stood closed for 41 years, kept as they were and turned into performance and exhibition space. On days with nothing on, the tanks themselves are the reason to walk in.
World Cup Park
A park made out of the Nanjido landfill, which took Seoul's rubbish for fifteen years from 1978. It opened in 2002 and is divided into five areas, two of which are hills built from the waste itself.
Seoul World Cup Stadium
The football stadium at Sangam built for the 2002 World Cup, also hired out for large open-air shows. World Cup Park shares the name and is a different place, so it is worth reading the ticket and the map together.
Stories about this place
- Gyeonggi's Twelve Joseon Royal Tomb Precincts, Compared: The Five That Differ on Price or Opening Time
All twelve Joseon royal tomb precincts in Gyeonggi Province, compared on how many tombs each one gathers and on what can only be seen there. Unlike Seoul's five, admission and opening hours vary here, and five of the twelve differ from the other seven.
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