Heritage with Related Tags
Complex of Koguryo Tombs
The site includes several group tombs and individual tombs, totaling about 30 individual tombs, dating from the late Goguryeo Kingdom. The Goguryeo Kingdom was one of the most powerful kingdoms in what is now northeastern China and half of the Korean Peninsula, dating from the 3rd century BC to the 7th century AD. Many of these tombs have exquisite wall paintings, which are almost the only remains of this culture. Of the more than 10,000 Goguryeo tombs discovered in China and Korea to date, only about 90 have wall paintings. Almost half of these tombs are located at this site, and they are believed to have been built to bury the king, members of the royal family and nobles. The wall paintings provide unique testimony to daily life during this period.
Gaya Tombs
This archaeological site of tombs belongs to the Gaya Confederation, which flourished in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula from the 1st to the 6th century AD. The geographical distribution and landscape features of the tombs, the types of burials, and the grave goods explain the unique political system of Gaya. The members of the confederation were politically autonomous and coexisted as equals, while also sharing cultural commonalities. The introduction of new burial forms and the strengthening of the spatial hierarchy of tombs reflect the structural changes that Gaya society underwent during its development.
Namhansanseong
Namhansanseong Fortress was the emergency capital of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), located in a mountainous area 25 km southeast of Seoul. Built and guarded by Buddhist monks, the fortress could accommodate 4,000 people and served important administrative and military functions. Its earliest remains date back to the 7th century, but it was rebuilt several times, especially in the early 17th century to guard against attacks by the Qing Dynasty. The city embodies a synthesis of defensive military engineering concepts of the time, based on Chinese and Japanese influences, and changes in the art of defense after the introduction of weapons using gunpowder from the West. Inhabited since ancient times and long a provincial capital, the city contains a variety of military, civil and religious buildings that became a symbol of Korean sovereignty.
Historic Villages of Korea: Hahoe and Yangdong
Hahoe and Yangdong, founded in the 14th and 15th centuries, are two of Korea’s most iconic historical clan villages. Their layout and location—set against forested hills and facing rivers and open farmland—reflect the unique aristocratic Confucian culture of the early Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). The villages were sited to draw physical and spiritual nourishment from the surrounding landscape. They include clan residences, as well as large wooden houses for members of other clans, pavilions, study halls, Confucian academies, and clusters of mud-walled, thatched-roof single-story houses that were previously built for commoners. The views from the pavilions and resting places offer a breathtaking view of the mountains, trees, and water surrounding the villages, whose beauty was praised by poets in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Jongmyo Shrine
Jongmyo Shrine is the oldest and most authentic Confucian royal shrine in existence. Dedicated to the ancestors of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), it has existed in its current form since the 16th century, housing tablets of teachings from former royal family members. Rituals that combine music, song and dance are still performed here, continuing a tradition that dates back to the 14th century.
Hwaseong Fortress
In the late 18th century, King Jeongjo of Joseon moved his father's mausoleum to Suwon and built a fortified fortification around it, arranged according to the instructions of an influential military architect of the time who combined the latest developments in the field from both the East and the West. These massive walls, stretching nearly 6 kilometers, are still well preserved today; they have four gates and are equipped with bastions, turrets and other facilities.