I visited this WHS in May 2017. Out of the 40 Royal Joseon Tombs spread out in 18 locations I visited the 3 tombs in the Seollung and Jeongneung cluster (closed on Mondays), which are conveniently close to the Seollung subway station (Line 2, Exit 10).

Although being at the heart of Seoul's business district, the buffer zone is a major green zone in Seoul and the old pine trees, ginko trees and cherry trees manage to hide away the surrounding skyscrapers throughout the different trails. I visited early on a quiet morning and most of the walkways were covered with pink and white cherry blossoms. I managed to spot quite a lot of different bird species while walking from one tomb to the other, the largest of which was a male pheasant.

First I visited the double mound royal tombs of King Seongjong (the 9th Joseon monarch; photo) and Queen Jeonghyeon and later on I visited the royal tomb of King Jungjong (the 11th Joseon monarch). Each tomb had 12 faced retaining stones surrounding the burial mound with a corresponding Oriental zodiac animal. Each burial mound had a 12 angled stone railing around it and upon looking closer (mostly with my zoom lens) I could notice that each stone face around the mound had intricately carved decorations.

Each tomb has something different but the main layout components of the Royal Joseon Tombs are the following: a tomb keeper's house which is used to prepare for ancestral memorial rites; a bridge over a forbidden stream at the entrance which serves as a boundary between the secular and sacred realms; a red spiked gate which signifies the entrance to sacred territory; a two-level worship road which is practically a stone walkway linking the red spiked gate and the T-shaped shrine, with the higher one being for spirits and the lower one being for the king; a t-shaped shrine where ancestral rites are held and the tablet of the deceased is enshrined during rituals; a stele shed housing stone stelae or tombstones inscribed with the achievements of the tomb occupant; stone figures of military officials holding a long sword and guarding the deceased on the lower platform of the burial mound; stone figures of civil officials holding a scepter in both hands and facing each other on either side of a stone lantern; the burial mound itself and finally a bent wall protecting the burial mound.

Like China's Ming Tombs, the Royal Joseon Tombs of South Korea are not very iconic sites but with prior research and some reading, I enjoyed my visit to these unique burial sites and I wouldn't mind visiting other locations in the future. The UNESCO WHS inscription plaque and stone marker are just in front of King Seongjong's tomb. After my visit, I decided to check out the nearby Bongeunsa Temple which is believed to be Seollung's Buddhist guardian temple and which was fully adorned for the Lotus Lantern Festival celebrating Buddha's birthday.