Last year, Soojeong's father took us out of the hustle and bustle of the city to see some of the royal tombs of the Joseon Dynasty. We visited the sites of Seo-oreung and Seosamreung on a cool fall day and set out exploring and admiring the ancient architecture. There is just something unique and interesting to me about cemetaries and tombs in Korea and Japan. It may be macabre, but the types of graves and the feel in the air is different. Maybe it is the ancientness of the tombs themselves, or the old statues and mounds that make them up, but something creates an atmosphere that is hard to describe.
Both locations we visited were beautiful and quite expansive. There were various tombs for people anyone from princes, princesses, concubines, and a king and queen. The weather was beautiful and we really enjoyed walking among the fall leaves as we made our way from tomb to tomb. It is amazing how much wildlife is just outside the city. There were nuthatches, chickadees, magpies, and lots of squirrels. At one site we were even able to gather our favorite leaves and have them laminated by some volunteers near the entrance. It was a fun day trip and I hope to explore there again sometime in the future.
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