Placenta Chambers of King Sejong’s Sons, Seongju

The Placenta Chambers of King Sejong's Sons stand atop Taebong Peak beneath Seonseoksan Mountain in Wolhang-myeon, Seongju-gun, and comprise a cluster of nineteen taesil — chambers built to enshrine the placenta of a royal child at birth — belonging to Sejong's eighteen sons, born of his queen and his consorts, and to his grandson, King Danjong. Of the nineteen chambers, fourteen retain their original form. In the case of the five princes who opposed King Sejo's usurpation of the throne, however, the stone furnishings were destroyed and no longer survive, apart from the square pedestal carved with lotus petals; for King Sejo's own chamber, after his enthronement, a special stone turtle base was made and a commemorative stele (gabongbi, erected to mark a king's accession) placed in front of the taesil stele. The chambers were built between the 20th year (1438) and the 24th year (1442) of King Sejong's reign, on a peak that had originally held the grave of Yi Jang-gyeong, founding ancestor of the Seongju Yi clan; when the site was chosen for the royal placenta chambers, his grave was relocated to make way for them. During repairs to the chambers in 1977, artefacts were discovered, including a buncheong ware bowl and lid with stamped floral design, a flat-bottomed jar, and an epitaph tablet. The Placenta Chambers of King Sejong's Sons are valuable material for the study of early Joseon taesil forms, and are considered an important site both as the only complete cluster of princes' placenta chambers surviving in Korea and as evidence of the changing manner in which royal placenta chambers were built across the transition from Goryeo to Joseon.

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Where it is

Region

Seongju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Historic Site · 사적