Seongnam Galhyeon-dong Building Site Ruins Designated as Gyeonggi-do Monument

The ‘Seongnam Galhyeon-dong Building Site Ruins,’ presumed to be related to royal buildings from the early Joseon period, have been newly designated as a Gyeonggi-do monument.

Gyeonggi-do recently held a meeting of the Monument Subcommittee of the Gyeonggi-do Cultural Heritage Committee and completed the final review to designate the ‘Seongnam Galhyeon-dong Building Site Ruins’ as a provincial monument. On the 16th, the designation was officially announced on the Gyeonggi-do website, the province stated on the 17th.

Located above the Daewon Tunnel connecting Galhyeon-dong and Sangdaewon-dong in Seongnam City in a north-south direction, the Seongnam Galhyeon-dong Building Site Ruins revealed more than ten buildings, walls, drainage facilities, entrance facilities, and courtyards. The site is presumed to be related to the Joseon royal family based on its planned spatial layout, large-scale remains, and decorative roof tiles.

Seongnam Galhyeon-dong Site Overview

Additionally, artifacts typically excavated from royal-level sites were found, including ridge tiles (yongmaru), descending ridge tiles (naerimmaru), decorative tiles such as roof-end tiles (chwidu), dragon head tiles (yongdu), roof tile ornaments (tosu), figurines, and end tiles featuring dragon and phoenix patterns, as well as blue roof tiles and Buddhist-related beomjamun end tiles.

Gyeonggi-do and Seongnam City plan to continue further academic research to clearly define the characteristics of these ruins.

Lee Jong-don, Director of the Gyeonggi-do Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, stated, "The ‘Seongnam Galhyeon-dong Building Site Ruins’ are a valuable cultural heritage that allows us to see early Joseon architectural structures and royal and Buddhist-related artifacts intact. We will continue to excavate and designate cultural heritage in Gyeonggi-do to fully preserve the value of our cultural assets."