Namyangju Sareung [UNESCO World Heritage]

Sareung is the royal tomb of Queen Jeongsun (1440-1521), a consort to King Danjong. She was perhaps the most tragic royal woman of the Joseon Dynasty.

In 1453, she was selected to be Queen out of many candidates and actually became the Queen a year later. However, when King Danjong was forced to abdicate from the throne by Prince Suyang, who later became King Sejo, and was exiled to Yeongwol in Gangwon-do province, Queen Jeongsun was deprived of her title as well.

After King Danjong died, she built a thatched-roof house outside Seoul’s Dongdaemun Gate (East Main Gate) and lived there for the rest of her life continuing to mourn her husband.
The tomb’s name, Sareung came from the fact that she had missed her dead husband so much.

Unlike other royal tombs, Sareung looks very simple. Its size is relatively small, and it does not have the “Byeongpungseok” stone border. There is only a “Muninseok” statue of a civil officer and “Seokma”, a statue carved in the shape of a horse.