Tomb of Kim Yu-sin, Gyeongju

This is the tomb of Kim Yu-sin, a general of Silla, located on a hill to the east of Songhwasan Mountain in Gyeongju. Kim Yu-sin (595–673) played a central role in the unification of the Three Kingdoms. He formed a marriage alliance with Kim Chun-chu (later King Taejong Muyeol), building a political foundation for himself, and distinguished himself in numerous battles and internal conflicts. In 660 he became sangdaedeung, the head of the council of nobles, and led the conquest of Baekje; in 668 he became daechonggwan, the supreme commander of the Silla army, bringing about the fall of Goguryeo and repelling Tang invasions, making him the foremost meritorious subject in Silla's unification of the Three Kingdoms. The tomb is large, with a diameter of 30 m, and has a round mound. At its base, retaining stones are arranged with a stone balustrade around them; plain stones alternate with stones carved with the twelve zodiac guardian figures. The figures wear everyday dress and hold weapons, with human bodies and animal heads. Although shallow, the carving is highly refined; this style of carving zodiac figures onto the retaining stones of a tomb appeared after Unified Silla and is thought to have begun with the tomb of King Seongdeok. According to the Samguk yusa, when Kim Yu-sin died, King Heungdeok honoured him posthumously as King Heungmu the Great and appears to have decorated his tomb in accordance with royal funerary rites. The Samguk sagi further records that when Kim Yu-sin died, King Munmu conducted his funeral with full ceremony and erected a stele to commemorate his achievements and virtue. However, that stele no longer survives; only a stele reading "Tomb of Kim Yu-sin, Taedaegakgan of Silla," erected by the governor of Gyeongju during the Joseon period, remains today.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Historic Site · 사적