Songsanri Burial Mounds and Tomb of King Muryeong
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| Address |
| Geumseong-dong, Gongju-si, Chungcheongnam-do |
| Description |
The Songsanri Burial Mounds and Tomb of King Muryeong(reign 462-523) is
representative relics of
the Baekje period (234~678). Songsanri Burial Mounds
have graves of kings from the period when Baekje’s capital was Gongju, and it is
believed to contain 10 such graves. Only seven graves have been discovered so
far.
The biggest attraction of Songsanri Burial Mounds is the wall paint
drawn on the number 6 tomb – it is the only art of its kind in the world, drawn
from the way the bricks were laid to create the wall. The tomb it is shaped like
a long tunnel, the top rounded like a dome. There are pictures of fire-breathing
dragons on the tomb. Only the parts of the wall where the pictures were to be
drawn had earth coated on, and on that earth was drawn Sasindo – the blue
dragon, white tiger, red peacock, and black turtle.
The popular Tomb of King
Muryeong is the 7th tomb, and it is the resting place for Baekje’s 25th King
Mu-Ryeong and his Queen. This tomb was discovered accidentally when installing
pipes to prevent tombs number 5 and 6 from being flooded. Tomb of King Muryeong
was found to be unusual in the way it was built and what it contained. It was
built with bricks like the 6th Tomb, and many national treasures were found
inside, supplying scholars studying Baekje culture with precious research
material. There were 108 kinds of artifacts found inside, totaling 2,906 items
altogether. 12 of these artifacts were designated National TreasureS. They are
all on display at the Gongju National Museum. Some of the representative
treasures are the crowns worn by the King and the Queen, gold decorations for
the crowns, gold earrings, necklaces, bronze mirrors, pillows, and foot pillows.
Recently the tomb was permanently sealed to protect the treasures. You can look
at the miniature of the tomb, however, an exact duplicate of the original, in
the basement of the Gobungun Building.
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| Directions |
From Gongju Bus Terminal or Gongju Train Station, take a bus to Tomb of King
Muryeongwongreung. Operates frequently.
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| Information |
Admission: Free
Parking: Free
Hours: (Mar – Oct) 09:00-18:00 / (Nov – Feb)
09:00-17:00
Inquiries: Gongju-si Tourism Information Center, Tel: (041)
856-7700 (Kor)
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