Seoul Seolleunggwa Jeongreung [yuneseuko Segyeyusan]

Seolleung (宣陵) is the royal tomb of King Seongjong, the 9th monarch of the Joseon Dynasty, and his third queen, Queen Jeonghyeon of the Yun clan. Seolleung follows the form of Dongwonigangneung (同原異岡陵), where two burial mounds are placed on different hills within the same tomb area, sharing a single pavilion (jeongjagak). When viewed from the front of the pavilion, the left hill (west) holds King Seongjong's tomb, and the right hill (east) holds Queen Jeonghyeon's tomb. Seolleung was built in 1495, the year after King Seongjong's death in 1494, at its current location in Hakdang-ri, Gwangju. Originally, this site was the tomb of Grand Prince Gwangpyeong, a son of King Sejong the Great (the 4th monarch), but when Seolleung was established, Grand Prince Gwangpyeong's tomb was moved to Suseo-dong, Gangnam-gu. Later, in 1530, when Queen Jeonghyeon passed away, her tomb was built on the eastern hill of Seolleung. During the Japanese invasions of Korea (Imjin Waeran) in 1592, Japanese forces dug up the tombs of Seolleung and Jeongneung, burning even the royal coffins (jagung), leading to a reburial in July 1593.

Jeongneung (靖陵) is the royal tomb of King Jungjong, the 11th monarch of the Joseon Dynasty. King Jungjong died in 1544, and in 1545, his tomb was built on the western hill of Queen Janggyeong's (his second queen) Heolleung (now the site of King Cheoljong's Yereung within Seosamneung, Goyang), and the tomb was named Jeongneung along with Heolleung. However, in 1562, Queen Munjeong (his third queen) moved Jeongneung to its current location. Queen Munjeong discussed this with the monk Bou, then the abbot of Bongeunsa Temple, and moved King Jungjong's tomb here because she herself wished to be buried with him. However, since the relocated Jeongneung was in a low-lying area prone to flooding during rain, Queen Munjeong was buried not at Jeongneung but at Taereung in Nowon-gu, Seoul, after her death. As a result, the tombs of King Jungjong and his three queens (Queen Dangyeong, Queen Janggyeong, and Queen Munjeong) are all scattered separately. Like Seolleung, Jeongneung was also dug up during the Japanese invasions in 1592, with the royal coffin burned, and was reburied in August 1593.