Ancient Tombs in Seokchon-dong, Seoul

The tombs at Seokchon-dong are the graves of the rulers of early Baekje, from the third to the fifth century, when the capital was two kilometres away at Pungnap. The largest, Tomb 3, is a square platform of dressed stone fifty metres on a side rising in three steps, and it is generally taken to be the tomb of King Geunchogo, who reigned from 346 to 375 and made Baekje a power. Stepped stone tombs of this kind belong to Goguryeo, five hundred kilometres to the north. That Baekje's kings chose them is the best physical evidence for what the histories say — that the dynasty was founded by princes who came south from Goguryeo — and the name of the district, 'stone village', comes from the quarried blocks that lay about here for centuries. A survey in 1916 counted nearly three hundred mounds. The city grew over almost all of them; what survives is a handful in a park between apartment blocks, restored in the 1980s, with Tomb 3 at the centre. Recent digging under the footpaths has found that the tombs were connected by paved surfaces and that cremated remains were placed between them, so the site is still giving up information.

Original Text

Where it is

Region

Songpa-gu, Seoul

Designation

Historic Site · 사적