Tomb of Munmu of Silla

Munmu of Silla' unified the Three Kingdoms of Korea, but he was worried about the safety of unstable countries and the invasion of Japan. When Japan broke out on the Sea of Korea and killed and pillaged the people, 'Munmu of Silla' began to build temples while increasing military and defense facilities on the east coast. The idea was to defeat the Japanese people with the help of Buddha. But before the temple was finished, 'Munmu of Silla' became ill. 'Munmu of Silla' called his son before his death. "If I die, Bury me in Donghae (Sea of Korea). So when he died, but left a will to the Jiui Monk of his body be cremated in accordance with Buddhist ceremony to bury the ashes the Sea of Korea. It is called Daewang-am, and it is the Tomb of Munmu of Silla.[4] In this way, 'Munmu of Silla' will become a great dragon and protect the country. His remains from the land in accordance with Munmu of Silla's will be cremated and the Sea of Korea of Daewang-am with and frugal lifestyle he paid funeral.[5] When 'Munmu of Silla' died before completing the temple, his son King Sinmun completed it in 682. And he named it " Gameunsa " to thank 'Munmu of Silla's grace.[4]

Cho geung-seop(조긍섭), who toured Gyeongju from 1918 to 1926 during Korea under Japanese rule, wrote a poem using the tomb of Munmu of Silla. In his poem, Munmu of Silla instructed him to cremate in the Sea of Korea with dying words. People suspected he might have designated such a big tomb. However, people guess that the cremate might have caused him to bury his bones and become a big tomb. He will not get a place like this without great virtue.[6]

Sinmun of Silla built Gameunsa for his father, Munmu of Silla. In 682, a public official said 'Small mountain in Donghae is coming to Gameunsa'. According to the fortune-telling, King Munmu of Silla, who became the dragon of the sea, and Kim Yu-sin, who became the king of heaven, said, " Go out and take the present." When he came and saw at Igyeondae, it looked like a turtle's head and had bamboo on it, divided into two by day and combined into one by night. Nine days after the storm, the king entered the mountain and the dragon said, "If you made a flute out of that bamboo, the whole world would be at ease." So he took it out, made a flute and kept it. The name of this flute is Manpasikjeok. The reason for the name is that when the country is worried, he played the flute and country has become quiet.[7]

Unlike most royal tombs, Munmu of Silla's tombstone could not be placed in front of them. He was buried in rocks of the Donghae. It is assumed that Munmu of Silla's tombstone was built at Sacheonwang Temple, a place that was closely related to Munmu of Silla's life. Based on the excavation research, the two royal tombs are believed to be Sacheonwang Temple Historical Hall and Munmu of Silla's Royal Palace. Sacheonwang Temple also appears on the side of Gyeongmyeong of Silla of Samguk sagi, which appears to have been maintained until silla collapsed.[8]

However, with the fall of Silla, Munmu of Silla's tombstone has become unknown. However, the existence was confirmed by Hong Yang-ho, then a member of the Gyeongju Buyun, in 1760, and was reconfirmed by Chusa Kim Jeong-hui, who visited Gyeongju in 1817. The lower part of tombstone was discovered in 1961, and the higher part of tombstone was discovered by a gas inspector when it was used as a laundry stone in a house in eastern Gyeongju in 2009.[8]

In 2017, the tomb of Munmu of Silla was selected 'the top 10 tourist contents of North Gyeongsang Province'.[9]

in Tomb of Munmu of Silla Chunhyang Daeje means commemorative rites for ancestors in early spring. The festival is held to inherit the spirit of national defense, to celebrate the king and attract tourists, organized by residents. More than 900 people participated, including heads of government, citizens, and tourists.[10]

Every New Year's Day, Gyeongju hold the sunrise festival at the tomb of King Munmu of Silla. The sunrise festival, which was held in 2015, was called 'The sunrise festival of tomb of King Munmu of Silla in Gyeongju'[11]

The city of gyeongju held various traditional cultural events in front of the tomb of King Munmu of Silla in honor of the great king Munmu. On the first day of the event, the royal procession from Gameunsaji to the Tomb of King Munmu of Silla was reenacted. And There were flying kites, and performing rituals on the king of Munmu.[12]

Gameunsaji is a Historic Site No. 31. And it is a temple site that was made for Munmu of Silla, who unified Three Kingdoms of Korea and be the dragon of the East Sea. It was discovered that the temple was deployed as a two-board temple in 1959. In the second excavation, it was reconstructed on two occasions after the first one in 1979 and 1980.[15]

Igyeondae is Historic Site No. 159. It is located in front of Gamgeunsa Temple Site, where the tomb of Munmu of Silla, who achieved unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, is seen.[16]