Tomb of Sin Sunggyeom (장절공신숭겸장군묘역)

Introduction

Tomb of Sin Sung-gyeom (posthumous epithet: Jangjeolgong), a founding contributor of the Goryeo Dynasty Sin Sung-gyeom made a great contribution to the foundation of Goryeo by expelling Gung Ye and crowning Wang Geon (later, King Taejo) as a king in 918, together with Bae Hyeon-gyeong, Hong Yu, and Bok Ji-gyeom. When Taejo of Goryeo was surrounded by the army of Gyeon Hwon (founder of Later Baekje) at the Palgongsan Battle in Daegu, Sin exchanged armor with Taejo’s armor to disguise himself as the king and died. The enemy thought that he was Taejo and beheaded him, and Taejo made his head with gold in sorrow and held a funeral for him. The Tomb of Sin Sung-gyeom consists of three mounds, which are said to have been a measure that Taejo took lest the golden head should be stolen. The location of the tomb is regarded as one of the best propitious sites for a grave in Korea, based on geomancy. Surrounded by pine trees, this site overlooks downtown Chuncheon. The tombstone, shrine, and memorial stone were built around the tomb. This tomb was designated as Gangwon-do Monument No. 21 under the title “Sin jangjeolgong Myoyeok (Tomb of Sin Sung-gyeom),” while the memorial stone, bearing the story of the Palgongsan Battle and Sin Sung-gyeom’s performance, was designated as Gangwon-do’ Tangible Cultural Heritage No. 155.