Key takeaways
Inside Hongneung Forest, you can still find the site where Empress Myeongseong was buried before her relocation, along with "Eojeong," a well where King Gojong once stopped to drink water during his visits to the tomb. Fact The King Sejong Memorial Hall — separated from Hongneung Forest by Hoegi-ro — broke ground in 1968, was completed in 1970, and opened on October 9, 1973. Fact (For readers unfamiliar with the name: King Sejong, who reigned 1418–1450, is Korea's most revered monarch, credited with creating the Korean alphabet, Hangeul.)
The two sites technically fall in different administrative neighborhoods — Hoegi-dong and Cheongnyangni-dong, respectively — but they sit just a few minutes' walk apart, making them easy to visit together. In effect, a memorial hall honoring one of Joseon's most celebrated early kings faces the burial site of one of its most tragic queens, across time and across a single hillside.
What to look for on site
- The marker for the Hongneung site and the Eojeong well inside the forest
- Exhibits and artifacts at the King Sejong Memorial Hall
- The road, Hoegi-ro, that separates the two sites
Original, site-only, restored, or recreated?
- Site with surviving relics: the Hongneung site and Eojeong well — the burial mound itself was relocated, but the site and the well survive as genuine relics. Fact
- Newly built memorial hall: the King Sejong Memorial Hall — not a royal-era relic, but a memorial facility built in the late 20th century. Fact