Joseon Royal Tombs Emerge as World Heritage

Gwangneung of King Sejo, the 7th ruler, in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province

By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter

A group of 40 royal tombs from the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) has been registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site in the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) in Seville, Spain on June 26, becoming South Korea's ninth UNESCO-designated treasure.

The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) said that the committee highly regarded the site's unique architectural and landscape forms reflecting Confucian and geomantic traditions, as well as the related funereal rituals that have been handed down to the present day, and a comprehensive preservation of the tombs. The authorities said that the efforts of the social and regional communities to protect the cultural heritage were highly evaluated.

Spread throughout Seoul, Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces, the Joseon royal tombs had been meticulously preserved by court officials during the kingdom's reign of 519 years. The royal tombs house 27 generations of the kingdom's kings, queens, and posthumously designated rulers.

However, the committee has recommended that the authorities restore the damaged parts of some tombs to its original shape, prepare the proper guidelines to preserve the sites from the urban development, come up with tourism plans and make guide manuals.

``Now, the world has recognized the excellence of Joseon Kingdom's heritage,'' Lee Kun-moo, head of the CHA, said.

He pointed out that with the addition of the royal tombs, Korea now has all the sites of the major remains of the Joseon Kingdom listed as World Heritage sites, following the additions of Jongmyo Shrine in 1995 and Changdeok Palace in 1997.

``We have a complete set with the shrine (Jongmyo), the royal living and cultural place (Changdeok Palace) and the afterlife place (royal tombs) as the World Heritage,'' he said as he explained the meaning of the designation.

He also said that the World Heritage status will bring life to the tourism industry.

Since the volcanic Jeju Island and its lava tubes were included on the World Natural Heritage list in 2007, the number of tourists to the island has surged by 20 percent, he said.

From Regional Movement to Registration of World Heritage

The movement to register the royal tombs as a World Heritage site actually was initiated by the regional community in Guri, Gyeonggi Province which is home to the Donggureung Cluster consisting of nine royal tombs ― Geongwolleung, Hyeolleung, Mongnueng, Hwireung, Sungneung, Hyereung, Wolleung, Gyeongneung and Sureung.

The regional community and some historical and cultural scholars first tried to put only that site on the World Heritage list.

However, the CHA decided to include a group of 40 royal tombs scattered across 18 regions, including Donggureung, as a UNESCO World Heritage, as Donggureung alone was not enough to apply for the list.

The administration applied the tombs to the tentative World Heritage list in 2006 based on the grounds that the site has the cultural continuity of 40 tombs from a single dynasty.

The government also launched an academic research project on the royal tombs and held an international symposium in 2006-2007 to prepare the final application for the registration.

The CHA submitted the registration application to the World Heritage Committee on Jan. 31, 2008 in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) conducted the on-the-spot investigation of the site on Sept. 21-29 in the same year.

Then, ICOMOS submitted a final report to the WHC that the sites are have cultural heritage with a universal value of humankind and a cultural continuity of the tombs compared to other heritages remaining in East Asian countries.

The report also highly appraised the value of the tombs' unique structure under the Confucian influences, which consists of an entrance section, a ritual section and a burial section with particular characteristics such as the placement of stone monuments and statues nearby.

Also, geomancy was a key element to determine the site of the tombs, which is seen to highly respect the natural environment. Compared to the tombs of China, Japan and Vietnam, the Joseon tombs have originality, in that the site follows the natural environment and has the longer and continual history of the royal tombs.

The report also pointed out that the succession of the royal tombs' rituals was a valuable asset in which the ancestral rituals are served to the tombs until now.

More Actions to Preserve Ancient Tombs

The preservation state of the royal tombs remaining in South Korea is evaluated as generally good, but the WHC pointed out that some historical and cultural landscapes of the tombs, such as Seolleung, Heolleung and Uireung located in the middle of the city, are partially ruined or the overall tomb sites have been reduced due to the construction of high-rise buildings.

Also, Taereung is one of the most damaged tombs as nearby facilities such as a shooting field and a village for national athletic teams were established. Also, the tomb zones of Seosamneung ― Hyoreung, Yereung and Huireung ― in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province are severed due to the placements of a stock farm, a school and a golf course.

While highly appraising the value of the tombs, the UNESCO attached the recommendation that the government restore the damaged parts of the tombs to their original state and come up with the proper guidelines on the preservation of the buffer zones of the tomb sites, as the urban development pressure is getting higher.

In response to the UNESCO recommendation, the administration is preparing to restore the ancient tombs' original shapes by purchasing land nearby in Seosamneung and will gradually withdraw the shooting field and the athletic village.

Korea's Next World Heritage

The cultural authorities are pushing to register Gyeongju's Yangdong Village and Andong's Hahoe Village, Korea's representative folk villages whose homes have stood for centuries, as UNESCO World Heritage Sites by 2010. ICOMOS will conduct an on-the-spot inspection of the villages in September.

Currently, South Korea is home to nine local sites registered by UNESCO ― Jongmyo, Joseon's Royal Ancestral Shrine, and the Joseon-era Changdeok Palace in Seoul. Other sites include: Seokguram-Bulguksa and Gyeongju Historic Areas in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province; Tripitaka Koreana at Haeinsa Temple in Hapcheon, South Gyeongsang Province; Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province; Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites; and the volcanic Jeju Island and its lava tubes; the royal tombs of the Joseon Kingdom.

Free Admission in Tombs by July 12

To commemorate the designation of the royal tombs as the World Heritage, the CHA said that it is opening the royal tombs free of charge until July 12.

For more information, visit www.cha.go.kr and royaltombs.cha.go.kr.

chungay@koreatimes.co.kr