Tomb of Queen Consort of King Suro, Gimhae

This is the tomb of the queen consort of Suro, founder-king of Gaya. According to the Garakguk-gi ("Record of the Garak Kingdom") chapter of the Samguk yusa, the queen's family name was Heo and her given name was Hwang-ok; she is said to have originally been a princess of Ayuta in India who sailed to Korea at the age of sixteen and became King Suro's consort. She bore nine sons, two of whom were given their mother's surname, Heo, and their descendants continue to this day. The tomb is a round earthen mound about 5 m high, with no special facilities at its base. A low stone wall encloses the mound in a square for protection, and a retaining wall of long stones has been built at the front. A stele stands at the centre, inscribed in two lines with the words "Tomb of the Empress Dowager of Boju, Lady Heo, Queen Consort of King Suro of Garak" (駕洛國首露王妃 普州太后許氏陵). Attendant structures include a Sungboje shrine hall, an outer three-bay gate (oesammun), an inner three-bay gate (naesammun) and a hongsalmun, a red-painted gate marking a sacred precinct; unusually for this kind of tomb, it stands on a hillside rather than on flat ground. In front of the tomb remain stones said to be from the Pasaseoktap (Pasa Stone Pagoda), reputedly brought from India. In 1446, the 28th year of King Sejong, the protected zone was extended together with that of the Tomb of King Suro, and records state that the tomb was robbed during the Japanese invasions of 1592–1598. The present stele and offering table are said to have been installed when the tomb was refurbished again in 1647, the 25th year of King Injo. Its facilities are comparatively modest compared with the king's tomb, and since it has long been known as the tomb of the Queen Consort of King Suro, if it is assumed to date from around the same time as the king's tomb, its internal structure is likely to be either a pit-grave (neolmudeom) or a stone-lined tomb (dolgwakmyo). The name was changed to "Tomb of Queen Consort of King Suro, Gimhae" (from "Tomb of Queen Consort of King Suro") by notice on 28 July 2011.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gimhae, Gyeongnam

Designation

Historic Site · 사적