A hit movie leads to tentative opening of royal tomb

Amid the popularity of the movie "The Last Princess," which has so far garnered 5.5 million moviegoers, the tomb of the late Princess Deokhye will be opened temporarily.

The Cultural Heritage Administration said Tuesday that it would open tentatively the tombs of Princess Deokhye and Prince Yi Kang located at the Hongneung Royal Tomb and Yureung Royal Tomb in Namyangju City, Gyeonggi Province. Hongneung Royal Tomb is where King Gojong and Empress Myeongseong are resting, and Yureung Royal Tomb has King Sunjong, Empress Sunmyeong and Empress Sunjeong.

Different from other Joseon royal tombs, Hongneung and Yureung adhere to the formality of an emperor tomb, with seven family tombs including Princess Deokhye, her elder brother King Yeongchin and her elder half-brother King Yi Kang. Deokhye and King Yi Kang share the same entrance. Hongneung and Yureung are open to the public, but the seven family tombs had remained private.

"There have been many requests from people that they wanted to see the tombs following the release of the movie "The Last Princess," and so we decided to open it temporarily," a staff at the Cultural Heritage Administration said.

김상운 기자sukim@donga.com