Wolgye-dong Janggobun Tombs

In the middle of Gwangju's Cheomdan district in Gwangsan-gu, two keyhole-shaped mounds, square at the front and round at the back, rise like grassy hillocks. Known as janggobun because they resemble the janggu hourglass drum, they look remarkably like Japan's zenpō-kōen-fun keyhole tombs and are one of the puzzles of early Korea–Japan history. The larger, Tomb No. 1, is 43.5 m long and is ringed by a deep ditch.

Tombs uncovered by a science park

The site is low hill country beside the alluvial plain of the upper Yeongsan River, once home to a village called Janggu-chon. Surveys were carried out in the 1990s ahead of construction of the Gwangju High-Tech Science Industrial Complex. A trial excavation in 1993 defined the extent of both tombs and set the protected area, and in 1995 the ditches around both were fully excavated. The tombs were listed as a Gwangju Monument in 1994 and restored to their present form in 1997. The protected area covers 13,850 m².

The excavations date both tombs to the 5th–6th centuries. A stone chamber was built first, the mound was heaped over it, and a ditch about 1.5 m deep was dug around it. The janggobun of the Yeongsan basin mostly date from the late 5th to early 6th century, and their burial chambers sit above ground level.

What to see

• Tomb No. 1: the big one, 43.5 m long. Walk round the side and the square front and round rear joined by a narrow waist become clear.
• Tomb No. 2: about three-quarters the size of No. 1. Its stone chamber is badly damaged.
• Chamber design: both are stone-chamber tombs with an entrance passage, their walls built of split stones laid like bricks.
• The ditch: walk the full circuit of the ditch around the mounds to get a feel for their scale.

Whose tombs?

Both tombs were looted under Japanese rule, leaving only a gold earring, an iron arrowhead and pottery fragments in the chambers. The ditches, however, yielded large amounts of pottery: reddish-brown cylindrical vessels, trumpet-shaped vessels and wide-mouthed jars with a hole in the body. In mound shape, ditch layout and finds alike, they have much in common with Japan's keyhole tombs.

So far 16 janggobun have been identified in and around the Yeongsan basin, spread across Yeongam, Hampyeong, Haenam, Damyang and other counties, as well as Gochang in North Jeolla. Who was buried in them is disputed. Some in Japan have cited them as evidence for the "Mimana" theory that the Yamato state ruled southern Korea, while Korean scholars have suggested, among other views, that they belonged to Wa (Japanese) people who traded iron with Mahan. Either way, they show how actively the Yeongsan basin dealt with the Japanese archipelago across the sea.

Tripto tips

• Opening: managed by the Gwangju History and Folk Museum, with no admission fee. The museum's hours (09:00–18:00) also apply to this branch site, so plan your visit within them. Information: +82-62-971-6595.
• Getting there: the address is 155 Wolgye-ro, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju. City buses 09, 16, 30, 51, 91, 92 and 94 serve the area.
• Time needed: about 30 minutes to walk round both mounds and the ditch.
• The finds: objects from the tombs are held by the Chonnam National University Museum. For more background, visit the Gwangju History and Folk Museum and the Gwangju National Museum.
• Photography: stand at an angle to the side of a mound to capture the keyhole shape.