Gyeongju Seongdeokwang Royal Tomb

About this place

This is the tomb of Seongdeok, the 33rd king of Silla (r. 701–737), located in a pine forest on a southeastern hill along the road from Gyeongju toward Bulguksa. Born Yunggi, he was a son of King Sinmun and actively engaged in exchanges with Tang China, leading Silla through its most politically stable and prosperous era. According to the Samguk Sagi, he was buried south of Igeosa Temple in 737; a presumed temple site exists north of the tomb today. The mound is 46 m in circumference and 5 m high, ringed by a protective retaining wall of dressed stones and capstones. Between the facing stones are pillar-shaped bracket stones, with triangular supports outside them. Twelve zodiac guardian figures wearing armor and holding weapons stand between the supports. In front of the tomb is a stone table; at the four corners are stone lions. A pair each of civil and military stone figures originally flanked the altar, though only one military figure and one partial stone figure survive. The realistic sculptural technique belongs to the early Unified Silla style, and the tomb is considered the most complete example of Unified Silla royal tomb architecture.