Gongju National Museum: The Tomb Is on the Hill, What Was Inside It Is Here

Visiting archaeological sites, you meet the same problem constantly: the site has the place and somewhere else has the things.

In Gongju the distance is short. The mounds of the royal tomb park are on the hill; what came out of them is in this museum. Which makes it more accurate to treat this not as "the museum for the Gongju area" but as the other half of one tomb.

Opening hours and location are on the place page for the museum.

At a glance

The two tablets
The pair excavated when King Muryeong's tomb was found in 1971 is held here and was designated a National Treasure on 9 July 1974.
09:00 to 18:00
The same hours at weekends and on public holidays.
Closed on Mondays
Also closed on 1 January, Seollal and Chuseok, and on the Tuesday when a substitute holiday falls.
West of the tomb park
34 Gwangwangdanji-gil, Gongju-si, in Ungjin-dong.

One reason is enough

The two memorial tablets were excavated when King Muryeong's tomb was found in 1971 and are now at Gongju National Museum.

You cannot go inside the tomb. So the place where "seeing the tomb of King Muryeong" actually means something is here. On the hill you see the size and arrangement of the mounds; here you see what the mounds held.

The other tombs on that hillside were not so lucky. Tombs 1 to 4 had already been robbed before they were investigated. Only King Muryeong's tomb was opened untouched, which is why there is enough material to fill a gallery.

How to look at two slabs of stone

The tablets are not spectacular. They are not a crown or a set of ornaments. They are the most important objects from the tomb.

The king's tablet is 41.5 by 35 centimetres, its surface ruled in bands of 5 to 6 centimetres and carved with six lines. The king's record agrees with the account in the Samguk Sagi.

The other is the queen's, the same size, ruled in bands of 2.5 to 2.8 centimetres and carved with four lines. Thirteen lines were ruled and the remainder was left blank.

Thirteen lines ruled and four used changes how the stone looks. Less was carved than was prepared for, and the stone holds the gap between plan and execution.

The reverse is worth reading too. On the back of the king's tablet a square boundary was ruled and the twelve directions marked along it, but for reasons that are not known the west section was left unmarked.

"For reasons that are not known" appearing in the official description of a National Treasure says a lot about this object. The date is certain; one of the directions is still unexplained.

One stone used twice

There is another text on the back of the queen's tablet.

The land-purchase document was originally made for King Muryeong's funeral, and when the queen was later buried with him the reverse of that same stone was used to carve her memorial text.

One stone went through two funerals. The front is a deed of purchase and the back is the queen's memorial. If you can see both faces of it in the gallery, time has passed between them.

Why it is unique is stated too. These tablets are the only land-purchase document found in a Three Kingdoms royal tomb; they are what makes the occupant knowable, and they carry the burial customs of the Baekje of that time.

What Baekje was connected to

The tomb's place in Baekje history is in the same description.

Together with the other finds from the tomb, the tablets are evidence of cultural exchange between Baekje and the Chinese Southern Dynasties in the early sixth century, and so a valuable source for the study of Baekje history.

That the tomb's form shows Chinese influence comes up already on the tomb-park side. Here the same argument arrives as objects — not only how the tomb was built but what was put inside it points the same way.

The practical part

Hours are 09:00 to 18:00, the same at weekends and on public holidays. It closes on Mondays and on 1 January, Seollal and Chuseok, and on the Tuesday when a substitute holiday falls. The telephone number is 041-850-6300.

The address is 34 Gwangwangdanji-gil, Gongju-si, in Ungjin-dong.

The Monday closure genuinely affects planning. Gongsanseong and the tomb park are outdoors and the museum is shut on Mondays, so arriving in Gongju on a Monday means seeing the tombs and not what was in them — which, in this pairing, is half a visit.

If you are choosing an order, take the tomb park first and the museum second. Walk the empty mounds and the objects in the cases acquire a place they came from. In the other order the objects are objects and the hill is a hill.

Worth pairing with this

Frequently asked questions

Are the tablets from King Muryeong's tomb here?

Yes. The pair was excavated when the tomb was found in 1971, designated a National Treasure on 9 July 1974, and is managed by Gongju National Museum.

What are the hours and closing days?

09:00 to 18:00, the same at weekends and on public holidays. Closed Mondays and on 1 January, Seollal and Chuseok, and on the Tuesday when a substitute holiday falls.

Tomb first or museum first?

The tomb park first. The tomb interiors are not open, so seeing the mounds and then the finds is the order that works.

Why do the tablets matter so much?

They are the only land-purchase document found in a Three Kingdoms royal tomb, they make the occupant knowable, and the king's record agrees with the Samguk Sagi.

What if I am in Gongju on a Monday?

The museum is closed. Gongsanseong and the tomb park are outdoors and still work, but the finds will have to wait.