Tomb of King Talhae, Gyeongju

About this place

Located in Dongcheon-dong, Gyeongju, this tumulus is surrounded by a pine forest and is believed to be the tomb of Talhae, the 4th king of Silla (r. 57–80 AD). Although the form of the tomb itself is standard, it is significant as an early Silla royal tomb and, specifically, as the first tomb of a Silla king of the Seok (昔) clan. The mound is 4.5 m high and 14.3 m in diameter — a circular earthen tumulus with no surrounding features. It is thought to be a horizontal-chamber stone tomb (hoenghydeolsik seoksilmyo). At the entrance to the royal tomb stands a memorial shrine called Sungsinjeong (Veneration Pavilion). King Talhae was the first Silla king of the Seok surname; he ascended the throne at age 62 and died 24 years later. According to legend, his mother, the queen of the kingdom of Tapana (or Wanha, Yongseong) — located 1,000 ri northeast of Wa (Japan) — gave birth to a great egg after a seven-year pregnancy. Deemed inauspicious, the egg was placed in a chest and cast into the sea, eventually washing ashore at Ajinpo on the East Sea. A grandmother opened the chest, found a baby, and raised him. Because magpies followed the ship crying, the character for magpie (鵲) minus the bird radical (鳥) gave the surname Seok (昔), and because the child emerged from the chest, he was named Talhae (脫解, 'emerging from the container').