Royal Tomb of Joseon Dynasty (part 5 )

This is the T-Shaped Shrine (정자각) which I was referring earlier in my previous blog. This serves as the venue for ancestral rites and where the tablet of the deceased is enshrined during the rituals. 

With the burial mound right behind it, the T-shaped shrine is in line with the mound itself. I think it was created in such a way so as to give the direct link between the shrine and the tomb. I wonder it that is the case, though. 

Now. a moment for myself. I was impelled to have a pic of me at least once. I was squatting right underneath the Red Gate which severs as the entrance to the sacred territory. 

It mainly consists of two round pillars spanned by horizontal bars decorated with spikes. (nope..not in the picture, though).

anyway..this is how it looked as I was gazing from the gate. 

what's the pavement?

it's no ordinary pavement. In fact...these two separated lanes are called:

Spirit Road (신도 /sin-do) on the left-side.

&

King's Road (어도 /eo-do) on the right-side. 

These are clearly separated to make sure that people or those visiting the shrines do not walk carelessly on the walkway.

In fact there is a sign reminding visitors to keep off the royal tomb's spirit walkway (신도). again and again...I wonder what would happen if anyone just walk on it... 

the other one (the lower one) is a sign on the king's road; this, too, is informing visitors that they can walk on this path towards the shrine. 

At around 3 pm I was there..and the heat..oh my God...I could assure you...is bearable. ^^ well, it's autumn in essence, though the trees still looked green. 

Before going right into the Shrine, I took a zoomed pic of the stone figures of military guards and civil officials ..symbolizing their loyalty in guiding the royal tomb.

Royal Tomb of Joseon Dynasty (part 4)

After a 30-minute walk trying to find where the best spot to see and admire this talked-about and sought-after royal tomb of Joseon Dynasty, I finally managed to find my way of going straight into the up-front lawn right in front of the tomb.....tens of meters away. 

Right, please keep in mind that the royal tomb is not that far off from the city, in fact it IS inside the city, so the serene atmosphere of the tomb itself must be viewed by our own sense of appreciating. *gee..I didn't even know what I'm saying... 

What I mean is that...no matter how hard I tried to sort of admire the beauty of its location, I was--more often than not--distracted by the high-rise building behind it.:-( 

But, what could I do? 

So, I just keep on walking until I found the perfect spot to see the royal tomb from afar.

This is the Tomb of King Jungjong. 

I was then standing in front of the Red Gate. (not yet visible) 

but I wonder if I ever did take a photo of the red gate through which all of the burial rites and its ancestral rites are performed? 

Anyway, it does not matter. Since I was standing from afar..I could barely see the T-shaped shrine (which I visited later on)...and apparently...the green burial mound right at the back of the shrine was not that clearly visible, either. 

Was I contented? nope, not the least. 'Let's see what I could make out out of this panoramic view?'

wow...a nice burial site in the middle of the city, right?

oh, there you are, Red Gate!! See the one on the right side? 

With a sunlight filter mode, I could vividly capture the serenity of this burial site for the Joseon Royal kings.

Royal Tombs of Joseon Dynasty: (part 3)

In order to reach the tombs area, we got to keep on walking for another 700 meters from the tomb keeper's house.  Following the family who was up in front of me, I kept on walking... 

Until I found another trail where I could see the sprung-up concrete jungles. Yes...it's quite a combination. 

Still going on.... 

And..got a chance to take a peep of what I might encounter ... 

or this? would it be like this? Or ... 

Gosh..finally I found a sign that pointed the direction of where I should probably be heading to. Yes... 

and..I found, yet another picturesque landscape..

that I wouldn't imagine prior to coming here. 

Oh, there it is. It's a glimpse view of the royal tomb.

More pictures and stories are shared on my other entries on this trip. 

Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty (part 2)

Before proceeding to see the tombs, I managed to sneak into the house of the royal tomb's keeper. 

Of course, sneaking into doesn't necessarily mean a bad thing. In fact, I kind of enjoyed having to take a peep into how this traditional house was still intact while its surrounding has changed into a metropolitan Gangnam. 

Yes, this is me holding the brochure which of course be a great help for me to navigate around the complex. 

This is how the tomb keeper's house looks like. Hmm rather conveniently located in the heart of the city. Wait....you seem to forget something, Suray. You're just referring that to the present day. But, just imagine back days in the 15 century...

was Seoul like this?!!! 

Okay then..I got to admit..that being here would've been lonely.

But..who are you asking to? 

Should you ask the tomb keeper, he would surely reply that he wouldn't have had any time to be lonely since the ancestral rites are prepared right on the very spot. So, he's basically a busy person.

Gingko Tree: I saw it...I saw it @ Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty (part 1)

The next stop of my Gangnam area's trip was to Solleung. It's the Joseon dynasty tomb area where the kings were buried. 

Right there? yes...it's within the walking distance.

Mind you dear readers,...that it IS also within the city..and it's in Gangnam district which people think of as a mere concrete jungle ....but...there is this particular place that I would like to point out. 

It is located in Seolleung and Jeongneung. This is said to be 500-year old Gingko tree. 

은행나무 (enhaeng namu) or Gingko Tree.

Some people do come here to see this. 

I am sure that this coming Autumn and Winter would be a great time to re-visit this tree again.  

even some tourists did pray in front of this tree. Hmm...I wonder why.

But then I remember that some people do.