The Archaeological Meaning of Jangwigong Seo Hee’s Tomb

Goryeo’s grave remains that have been designated and managed as state-designated cultural properties since the establishment of the state include Goryeo’s old tomb group in Pyeonggeo-dong, Jinju designated as Historic Site No. 164 in 1968 and the tomb of General Yun Gwan designated as Historic Site No. 323 in 1988 only, and the criteria for designating these two remains as historic sites exhibit several problems. In general, the status of a state-designated cultural property has the historicity and symbolicity that can represent a specific period, and importantly, the irreplaceable scarcity and uniqueness of the value of existence should be equipped at the same time. Nevertheless, the tomb of General Yun Gwan which lost the original form as Gwaninbunmyo in Goryeo could be designated as a historical site because of the figure’s symbolicity in overcoming the national crisis. Looking at Seo Hee’s tomb from this point of view, we can find the aspect that it was transformed into Joseon’s Gwaninbunmyo while maintaining part of the appearance of Goryeo’s Gwaninbunmyo. This aspect of Seo Hee’s tomb is understood to show that the graveyard was first formed in Goryeo and then maintained and managed continuously in Joseon, too. Next, according to the results of archaeological examination on Seo Hee’s tomb, it is questionable whether early Goryeo officials uniformly preferred Gaegyeong and Geungi areas as burial sites as shown in previous studies. In this regard, this study reinvestigated the material of epitaphs put in graves in Goryeo. According to the findings, the time when Goryeo officials used Gaegyeong and areas around it as burial sites in earnest was from the time of King Munjong. Then, during the time before King Munjong in Goryeo when various systems were legislated in Goryeo and Gaegyeong’s status was newly established, it seems that Goryeo officials still maintained a bond with where they were born even though they moved their home base to Gaegyeong. Therefore, it is highly likely that Seo Hee’s tomb was built in Yeoju, Gyeonggi-do during the time before King Munjong in Goryeo.