If you live in the Seoul area and our looking for some place to view the changing leaves this fall and experience a little Korean history I highly recommend taking a trip north to Uijongbu and the nearby Gwangneung area:
Gwangneung is where the tombs for King Sejo and his wife Jeonghui are buried. King Sejo ruled Korea from 1455-1468. Sejo is the second son of King Sejong who is widely regarded as the greatest King in Korean history. Though Sejo who’s birth name is Suyang was the son of a great King he was never meant to be King himself. When King Sejong died his oldest son Munjong took power but was sick and died soon after leaving the crown to his oldest son Danjong who was only 12 years old.
Since Danjong was only 12 years old the court premiers Hwang bo-in and General Kim Jong-seo effectively controlled the government. Suyang and his allies saw the consolidating of power by the premiers as a threat and moved to destroy them. In October 1453 Suyang and his faction launched a coup and killed both Hwang bo-in and General Kim Jong-seo. Suyang then forced the 12 year old Danjong to abdicate the throne. Once he took the throne, he became known as King Sejo. To further ensure his power Sejo forced his own younger brother Anpyong to drink poison ensuring no future threats to the throne.
Besides launching bloody coups and forcing his younger brother to drink poison Sejo really wasn’t to bad of a guy. He is credited with strengthening the government, improving the economy, launching successful military offensives against the Jurchen barbarians in the north, funding the creation of many inventions, and the publishing of many books and records.
However, seeing his tomb is not the main reason to come to Gwangneung. The best reason to come here are the fabulous trees:
Gwangneung tombs are part of the greater Korea National Arboretum. The arboretum is filled with massive trees that have some how survived being chopped down or destroyed by war over the years. You will be hard pressed to find larger trees in Korea than what is found in the arboretum:
To reach the tombs of King Sejo and his wife you need to take a short walk up a hill lined with beautiful trees:
At the top of the path you will see the royal shrine to King Sejo and his wife:
The shrine is flanked by two hill tops on each side of it that are capped with tombs of the king and his wife:
I highly recommend bring a lunch here and walking around and exploring the area because the trees and scenery are just spectacular:
To visit the National Arboretum you need to make a reservation and pay a 1000 won fee. You do not need a reservation to visit the royal tombs and admission is only 700 won. You can catch a bus or taxi to Gwangneung from the Uijongbu bus terminal but I actually rode my bike to Gwangneung from Uijongbu before. A spectacular bike ride but if you do take a bike I recommend leaving early because the rode does get busy with traffic later on in the day.
Overall there are few places in Korea that make a better day trip to see the autumn foliage then Gwangneung. Definitely worth checking out this fall for everyone living in the Seoul and northern Kyeongi areas.
You can view more pictures here.
