Tomb of Queen Seondeok

East of central Gyeongju, inside a pine wood on the slopes of the low hill of Nangsan, lies the first queen to rule Silla. The Tomb of Queen Seondeok is one of the few Silla royal tombs whose occupant is known with certainty, and it belongs to the ruler who left Gyeongju the Cheomseongdae observatory and the nine-storey wooden pagoda of Hwangnyongsa. The quiet path up through the twisted pines shows a very different Gyeongju from the crowds at Daereungwon.

Silla's first queen

Seondeok was the 27th ruler of Silla and reigned from 632 to 647. She was the daughter of King Jinpyeong, who had no sons, and Silla's unusual rank system, which allowed only those of "sacred bone" lineage to take the throne, made it possible for a woman to become monarch. During her reign Bunhwangsa Temple was built, Cheomseongdae was raised, and the towering nine-storey wooden pagoda of Hwangnyongsa went up in the heart of the capital. Together with Kim Yu-sin and Kim Chun-chu she is credited with laying the groundwork for the later unification of the Three Kingdoms, though her final years were troubled by rebellion.

A burial wish in heaven

A well-known story is attached to the tomb. The queen asked to be buried in Trayastrimsha, a heaven of Buddhist cosmology, and when her ministers asked where that might be, she told them it was the top of Nangsan. Nobody understood her at the time. Decades later, after King Munmu had unified the peninsula, he built Sacheonwangsa, the Temple of the Four Heavenly Kings, below her tomb. In Buddhist cosmology Trayastrimsha lies directly above the heaven of the Four Kings, so her grave above the temple had indeed become that heaven. Nangsan had been protected as sacred ground since 413, and from the 7th century it became a holy mountain of Buddhism.

What to see

• The mound: A round earthen tomb 6.8 m high and 23.6 m across, ringed at the base with two to three courses of natural stones, with a small offering table in front. The lack of elaborate stone statues gives it a plain, dignified look.
• The pine wood: Gnarled pines surround the tomb. Early morning or late afternoon light slanting between the trunks makes for the best photographs.
• Around Nangsan: More a long, low ridge than a mountain. Below the tomb are the Sacheonwangsa Temple Site and its flagpole supports, and across the road lies the Mangdeoksa Temple Site. About five minutes along a field path from the tomb is the Neungjitapji site, thought to be where King Munmu was cremated.

Tripto tips

• Time needed: 20–30 minutes for the tomb alone, around 1.5 hours if you loop round Nangsan to the Sacheonwangsa and Mangdeoksa sites and Neungjitapji.
• Getting there: From the Sacheonwangsa site, walk past the flagpole supports and follow the fence of the excavation area to where the forest path to the tomb begins. The tomb is about 1.5 km south-east of Gyeongju National Museum, an easy distance by bicycle. It is an open-air site with no admission fee.
• When to go: The evergreen pines look good all year, but early morning or late afternoon is far more peaceful than midday. The day after a snowfall, the white mound and dark pine branches make a striking contrast.
• Combine with: Add Bunhwangsa and Cheomseongdae, both from her reign, to make a day following in Queen Seondeok's footsteps.
• Good to know: The forest path is unpaved and slippery after rain. Do not climb onto the mound.