King Suro's Tomb

This is the hottest thing to do in Gimhae - sadly. well, it's in all the tourist brochures anyway. it's more like a big park than a national monument. it is "historical relic no. 73. according to legend, King Suro originally came down from heaven to Gujibong and founded the kingdom of Garak. he died at the age of 158 in the year 199. this earth mound is believed to be his tomb. it measures 22 meters in diameter and is six meters high. there are tombstones and statues erected around it - from various centuries and kings - see pics below. "in spring and fall, sacrificial rites are held at the Seungseonjeon Shrine, which houses the tablets of suro king and his wife. this event has been designated as gyeongnam intangible cultural property No. 11." i got that straight off the wall at the tomb.

like i said it's like a big park, with these building in the middle. i went on sunday afternoon and the place was full of picnickers and families. it was actually very lovely. here are the pics. this weekend i'm going to his wife's tomb. did i mention these are in "downtown" gimhae? not that there aren't shops and restaurants... i'll have to get a map of the city scanned into the computer somehow so that you can see how it's all set up... i can't find a good one online. anyway, enjoy the pics... it's something like a small version of mount royal, without the mountain...