공주 백제유적지
Gongju is where Baekje moved its capital from Hanseong and made it the royal capital for 64 years. The royal fortress of that time, Gongsanseong, and the Tomb of King Muryeong and the Royal Tombs, where royal burials are gathered, both survive in the city. In July 2015 the two were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List under the name "Baekje Historic Areas", together with six sites in Buyeo and Iksan. Gongju City explains that these sites were highly valued because Baekje formed a culture of its own while exchanging with China, and passed it on to Japan and neighboring countries.
In the Korea Tourism 100 Selections 2025–2026 it was listed 6 times as "Gongju Baekje Historic Sites (Gongsanseong, Royal Tombs of Gongju and the Tomb of King Muryeong)". The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization said they chose this list through big-data analysis such as social media (SNS) search volume and 3 rounds of written and on-site evaluation by tourism experts.
Buy at the gate — no booking needed.
The old name of Gongju is Gomanaru, written in Chinese characters as Ungjin. When Baekje's capital Hanseong (Seoul) fell to a Goguryeo invasion in 475, Baekje moved its capital to Ungjin. From then on, until it moved again to Sabi (Buyeo) in 538, Ungjin was the center of Baekje for 64 years. The royal fortress of this period was Ungjinseong, which is today's Gongsanseong. It is a natural stronghold built by using the terrain of Gongsan, which drops steeply to the Geumgang River.
Gongsanseong did not end its use even after Baekje moved its capital to Sabi. Gongju City writes that it was the Bukbangseong among the 5 regional fortresses, and that in 630, when the palace at Sabi was repaired, the king moved his residence to Gongsanseong. In July 660 King Uija took refuge here from Sabi, stood against the Silla–Tang allied forces and surrendered. Even after Baekje fell, it had the seat of Ungcheonju under Unified Silla, and the Chungcheong Gamyeong and Junggunyeong under Joseon, so it remained a regional base for a long time. The names changed accordingly, Ungjinseong, Ungcheonseong, Gongsanseong and Ssangsusanseong, and the stone wall seen today is how it looked after being rebuilt in the reigns of Seonjo and Injo of Joseon.
Excavations continuing since the 1980s have confirmed a Baekje-era royal palace site, ponds, wooden storehouses and storage pits. On the northwest site where facilities related to the palace stood, more than 80 building sites came to light. A lacquered armor found in a water-storage facility bears an inscription in red letters, "Jeonggwan 19", meaning 645 (the 5th year of King Uija), and it has great value as historical material. The panchuk method of ramming fine soil and sandy soil in alternate layers, and the byeokju building sites, built by digging a trench and setting posts closely in it, are explained as evidence of exchange of building techniques with China and Japan.
Surveys during the Japanese colonial period are said to have found dozens of tombs, but the ones maintained now are 7, including the Tomb of King Muryeong. Tombs No. 1 to 5 are stone-chamber tombs with a corridor entrance, the representative Baekje tomb type, and Tomb No. 6 and the Tomb of King Muryeong are brick tombs, a type popular in China. The Korea Heritage Service writes that Tombs No. 1 to 4 had already been looted before they were surveyed. The Tomb of King Muryeong was found by chance in 1971 while the drainage system of Tombs No. 5 and 6 was being repaired. Thanks to the stone epitaph found in the tomb, its owner was identified as the 25th king of Baekje, King Muryeong, and Gongju City explains it as the only royal tomb among Three Kingdoms-period tombs whose owner is known.
The walls of Gongsanseong total 2,660 m, and apart from the 735 m earthen section on the east, they are built of stone. Most of the walls you see now were rebuilt in the Joseon period or later. According to the Korea Heritage Service, the fortress is an elongated rectangle about 800 m east to west and about 400 m north to south, and the south gate Jinnamru and the north gate Gongbungnu remain. Yeongdongnu was restored at the site of the east gate and Geumseoru at the site of the west gate in 1993, and inside the fortress there are sites such as Ssangsujeong, Yeongeunsa Temple and Yeonji pond. Walking along the walls, you take in all of Gongju at a glance.
The Tomb of King Muryeong and the Royal Tombs are a quiet forest walk where a footpath follows the ridge. According to Gongju City, more than 4,600 artifacts came out of the Tomb of King Muryeong, of which 12 items are designated National Treasures. It is convenient to check the visiting hours and closing days of both sites at once before your trip.
The two sites keep the same schedule. According to the Gongju City guide, they open 09:00 to 18:00 from March to October and 09:00 to 17:00 from November to February, and you can enter until 30 minutes before closing. They close on 1 January and on the days of Seollal and Chuseok. Parking is free at both.
Admission is charged separately for each site. It is 3,000 won for adults, 2,000 won for youth and soldiers and 1,000 won for children, and 2,500 won for adults in groups of 20 or more. People aged 65 and over, people with disabilities and pre-school children are free, but the guide does not state whether this applies to foreigners. To see all three of Gongsanseong, the Tomb of King Muryeong and the Royal Tombs, and the Seokjang-ri Museum, you can buy an adult combined ticket for 6,000 won at the first site you visit. Gongju City says the Tomb of King Muryeong and the Royal Tombs are free on "Culture Day", the last Wednesday of each month, but the Gongsanseong guide has no such item.
Gongju City gives the address of Gongsanseong as 280 Ungjin-ro and that of the Tomb of King Muryeong and the Royal Tombs as 37 Wangneung-ro. For inquiries, the Gongsanseong tourist information center is at 041-856-7700 and the Royal Tombs tourist information center at 041-856-3151. For both, take city bus No. 101 or No. 125 from Gongju Bus Terminal; for the Royal Tombs, get off at the Gongju Munye Hoegwan stop and cross the road. On the city bus timetable, No. 125 passes the Bus Terminal, Sanseong Market, Gongsanseong and Munye Hoegwan in that order.
If you come by train, use Gongju Station. The train timetable posted by Gongju City (as of 30 December 2025) shows KTX and SRT running toward Yongsan, Seoul, Haengsin and Suseo. Timetables can change, so check again before boarding. The Gongju intercity bus timetable lists destinations toward Dong Seoul, Seoul Nambu and Seoul Gyeongbu, and inquiries go to Gongju Terminal at 1666-8401. Gongju City also introduces that during the Baekje Cultural Festival you can cross by pontoon bridge from the front of Gongsanseong to Geumgang Singwan Park.