Hongneung Royal Tomb, Ganghwa

Hongneung is the tomb of King Gojong (1192–1259), the twenty-third ruler of Goryeo. This was a period when political power lay with the Choe family, while abroad the kingdom suffered repeated invasions by the Khitan and the Mongols. From the eighteenth year of King Gojong's reign (1231), successive Mongol invasions laid the country to waste, and the loss of life and of cultural heritage was immense. Despite these hardships, King Gojong left behind notable cultural achievements, including the production of the Tripitaka — the Goryeo Tripitaka that survives today at Haeinsa Temple in Hapcheon. The original Hongneung was built on three tiers of raised stone platforms: a memorial pavilion (jeongjagak) at the lowest level, human-shaped stone figures on the second tier, and the royal tomb itself at the highest point. It was not large in scale, and part of the balustrade of stones once encircling the tomb is said to have survived. A stone carved with an animal figure originally stood at each of the tomb's four corners, but these have since been lost; two human-shaped stone figures remain today. The balustrade has recently been repaired, and protective stones have been installed at the base of the burial mound.

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Where it is

Region

Ganghwa, Incheon

Designation

Historic Site · 사적