Yeongneung (King Hyojong) (Yeoju) | tomb(s)

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This is the Royal Tomb of King Hyojong, the 17th monarch of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), and his wife, Queen Inseon. Hyojong, the second son of King Injo, was born in 1619. He became heir apparent following the death of his brother, Crown Prince Sohyeon. He ascended the throne in 1649 and ruled Korea until 1659 when he died at the age of 41.

As a prince, Hyojong, together with his brother, was held hostage in Shenyang, Manchuria according to the terms of Korea's humiliating surrender to the Emperor of Qing Dynasty, which ended the Manchu invasion of Korea in 1636.

Following his ascension to the throne, he began planing to launch a military expedition against Qing to make it pay for the humiliation it caused him and his country. He enforced a land tax reform and encouraged the use of currency as a means of exchange, which contributed to the development of commerce and industry and subsequent building up of national strength. He also had additional fortresses put up and trained more soldiers.

When Qing China asked Korea to send troops to help it fight a Russian invasion from Siberia, Hyojong dispatched military units on two occasions with the intent of testing their combat readiness and collecting information on the Chinese forces.

The Korean soldiers soundly defeated the Russian invaders along the Amur and Sungari rivers. Unfortunately, King Hyojong died before he could carry out his plan to attack Qing China back. Yeongneung, as the Royal Tomb is called, was originally located west of the Geonwolleung Royal Tomb in Yangju (Guri at present) but was moved to Yeoju in 1673.