Qualla: Mausoleum of King Kongmin

Mausoleum of King Kongmin: Introduction

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Nicor, CC BY-SA 3.0. The story of King Kongmin's tomb begins with a misunderstanding that cost a young man his life. When the king's beloved wife -- the Mongolian princess Budashiri, known posthumously as Queen Indeok -- died in 1365, Kongmin was consumed with finding the perfect burial site. He summoned geomancer after geomancer, rejecting each one's recommendation. Finally, he issued a terrible ultimatum: the next geomancer to try would receive anything he desired if he succeeded, but would be executed on the spot if he failed. A young man stepped forward and pointed to a hillside outside Kaesong.

Image: Nicor | CC BY-SA 3.0

Mausoleum of King Kongmin: A Wave of the Handkerchief

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Stefan Krasowski from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0. The young geomancer led the king's officials to the spot where the tombs stand today. Meanwhile, Kongmin climbed the opposite mountain to survey the site from above. Before leaving, he had secretly instructed his advisors: if he waved his handkerchief, they should execute the man...

Image: Stefan Krasowski from New York, NY, USA | CC BY 2.0

Mausoleum of King Kongmin: Two Mounds, Two Worlds

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Nicor, CC BY-SA 3.0. The Mausoleum of King Kongmin -- formally the Hyonjongnung Royal Tomb -- consists of two separate burial mounds set into a hillside in Haeson Village, near Kaesong. Hyonnung holds the remains of Kongmin himself, the thirty-first king of the Goryeo dynasty, who reigned from 1351 t...

Image: Nicor | CC BY-SA 3.0

Mausoleum of King Kongmin: Guardians of Stone Along the Spirit Road

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit John Pavelka from Austin, TX, USA, CC BY 2.0. The approach to the tombs follows a traditional "spirit road" lined with stone statues of military officers and Confucian officials, silent sentinels standing watch over the path the dead were believed to travel. Stone sheep and stone tigers flank the burial mounds themselves -- ...

Image: John Pavelka from Austin, TX, USA | CC BY 2.0

Mausoleum of King Kongmin: Dynamite and Loss

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Uwe Brodrecht, CC BY-SA 2.0. The tombs survived five centuries of dynastic change, war, and neglect -- but not the Japanese occupation. In 1905, looters blasted open the burial chamber with dynamite and stripped it of its relics. Most of the artifacts were believed to have been taken to Japan, and they have ...

Image: Uwe Brodrecht | CC BY-SA 2.0