Excavation at the Auspicious Pheonix Tomb (Seobongchong)

This photograph was taken on 10th October 1926 in Gyeongju. It shows King Gustaf VI Adolf (1882 – 1973), then Crown Prince (to the left, center), investigating archaeological finds while partaking in the excavation of the Auspicious Pheonix tomb (Korean: Seobongchong). Queen Louise (1889 – 1965), then Crown Princess, can be seen sitting to the right.

The royal couple visited Korea during their “Round-the-World-Tour,” (1926-1927). From the United States, where they began their journey, they traveled to Asia, first to Japan, and then to Korea and China. In Korea, the royal couple first stayed in Gyeongju, the old capital of the Silla Kingdom (57 BCE – 935 CE), where they did not only visit significant historical sites, but the Crown Prince was also given the opportunity to participate in the ongoing excavations of a royal Silla tomb of the 5th century – the Auspicious Phoenix tomb (Korean: Seobongchong; Noseo District tomb no. 129) – on 10th October 1926. The tomb yielded a rare golden crown with phoenix ornaments and other precious artefacts. The gold crown was designated as treasure (Treasure No. 339) and is now held in the National Museum of Korea (Bongwan-014319-00000). To commemorate the event, the Crown Prince received a gold earring dating to the Three Kingdoms period (57 BCE – 668 CE) as a gift (currently held in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities; Accession No. K-04026-001). Furthermore, the character "seo" in the tomb's name, which means "auspicious," was borrowed from the first character of the Korean name for Sweden, “seojeon” and combined with the character for phoenix, “bong,” in reference to the phoenix decoration on the gold crown. Today, an engraved stone stele in memory of the royal visit and the Crown Prince’s participation in the excavation can be seen at the site, and a pine tree planted by the Crown Prince is still in situ in front of today's Gyeongju Culture Center. This visit of the later King of Sweden to Korea is considered an important event in Korean-Swedish relations.