Day 343 in Korea-Donggureung

Donggureung:

Two weeks ago, I finally went to one of my Guri’s most famous sites: Donggureung. Donggureung is a collection of royal tombs dating back to around 600 years ago. This blows my mind. Being from Kansas, I’m not used to seeing things older than 150 years. The strange thing is, for me anyway, people here were using it as a meeting place, playing badminton and climbing trees.  Right next to the tombs of people that have been dead for 600 years. 

Strangeness aside, it was a very pleasant day. I live at a very busy intersection so I’ve gotten accustomed to lots of horns honking, random people yelling who-only-knows-what and lots of traffic noise. It was a wonderful respite to spend the day not only surrounded by tombs of dead people but deep inside a forest as well. My initial thought was to blast my iPod while I was walking through but then I realized that I would be missing out on a lot. As soon as I took off my headphones, I could hear woodpeckers doing what they do best, bees buzzing all around me (although I could never see them, which really freaked me out), and the occasional yell from an excited kid. It was so refreshing!!

Most of the tombs are roped off so you can’t actually see the detail involved. Fortunately, three are open for wandering. Unfortunately, because of my busted toe I was only able to climb one before the stupid toe started hurting. The rest of the time you can only admire from afar. 

The one tomb that I did climb was quite interesting. Each tomb is actually two hills: a large hill with a smaller one on top, containing the actual body itself. On each of the large hill there’s a collection of animals, statues of civil and military officials, and other sculptures, including a stone lantern and a large stone table. In front of each of the tombs is a shrine and a shed. The shrine hosts the ancestral rites for the respective royal buried at that tomb and each shed has a tombstone inscribed with the royal’s achievements. 

One of the things that I really liked about Donggureung was they had a very well written English explanation for each of the tombs, which doesn’t always happen in Korea. It really helped me to appreciate the history and the accomplishments of Korea and its residents even more. The best part was the entrance fee was only 1,000 won, about 90 cents. It was beautifully kept and very well maintained. If you’re reading this from Korea, I highly recommend a visit!