Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty - structural and natural magnificence to honor the ancestors

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The ancient tradition of ancestral worship is perpetuated in modern times through the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty. Located in areas of sublime beauty, the tombs are sacred structures that inspire devotion.

The Royal Tombs of Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) are an outstanding example of a type of architectural ensemble that illustrates a significant stage in the development of Korean burial mounds. The royal tombs, with their place in nature and their unique and regularized configuration of buildings and structures, manifest and reinforce the centuries-old tradition and living practice of ancestral worship.

The Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty form a collection of 40 tombs scattered over 18 locations across the country. Built over five centuries, from 1408 to 1966, the tombs honored the memory of ancestors, showed respect for their achievements, asserted royal authority, protected ancestral spirits from evil and provided protection from vandalism. The Joseon Tombs completes the 5,000 year history of royal tombs architecture in the Korean peninsula.

The ensemble of structures that comprise the Royal Tombs features a ceremonial area and an entrance, alongside the burial mounds. In addition, associated buildings that are an integral part of the tombs include a T-shaped wooden shrine, a shed for stele, a royal kitchen and a guards house, a red-spiked gate and the tomb keepers house. The grounds are adorned with a range of stone objects, many featuring figures of people and animals.

The tombs were built in places of outstanding natural beauty, with the back side of the tombs protected by a hill as they face south toward water and, ideally, with mountain ridges visible in the distance.

Within the context of Confucian cultures, the integrated approach of the Royal Tombs of Joseon with nature and the universe has resulted in a distinctive and significant funeral tradition in Korea. The beautiful natural surroundings of the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty, shaped by the principles of pungsu (feng shui in Chinese), create a delicate, sacred setting for the living tradition of ancestral worship and its associated rites in modern times.