Located in Geumgok, Gyeonggi Province, Hongneung and Yureung, the “Imperial Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty”were built in the style of Chinese imperial tombs while concurrently inheriting the characteristiocs of royal tombs of the Joseon Dynasty. Hongneung was constructed in 1919 as the tomb of King Gojong (r. 1863~1907), and Yureung was built in 1926 for King Sunjong (r. 1907~1910), the last king of Joseon Dynasty. Both of the tomb sculpture are similar in type and placement, but differ greatly in their represented styles. The construction of Hongneung was started by Gojong himself to move his wife's tomb to the present Hongneung site, and it was completed after his death. Throughout the process, the builders responsible for the construction changed, and the detailed accounts of the stone sculptures were lost. What is certain is that it was Gojong who adopted the building principles of the imperial tomb. When it comes to documentation of Yureung, there is the Record of the Office of King Sunjong's Tomb. The record, however, is of no great help in understanding the tomb sculpture since the record itself is very short, and it was compiled before the tomb sculpture was completed. The stone sculptures of Hongneung and Yureung constitute an important research subject from the perspective of art history. It is true that information about the stone objects is hard to find: the remaining pictures of them are different from the existing sculptures in terms of their size and shape. There is also no defining data when they were made and who participated in the manufacturing process, which is the information that can be easily identified in the case of other traditional royal tombs of Joseon Dynasty. Historic documents on the two tombs are scarce since they were constructed during a tumultuous period of Korean history. But they are worth studying for the same reason that Yureung and Hongneung have considerable historical significance since they were built at pivotal turning points in Korean history; namely the start of the Daehan Jeguk(Great Han Empire) and the period of Japanese colonial rule respectively. Based on field studies and the remaining records of Hongneung and Yureung, such as the Record of the Office of Royal Tombs, the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, and various news paper articles, this thesis looks into the following questions: first, when were the stone sculptures of the two tombs made?; second, how did Gojong design the “Imperial Tomb of the Joseon Dynasty”and what was his motive for this?; and third, what lies behind the realistic style of the stone sculptures of Yureung? King Gojong accepted the building principles of Chinese imperial tombs for the purpose of strengthening his royal power. At the same time, the 27th monarch of the Joseon Dynasty tried to maintain the characteristic features of traditional royal tombs. Stone sculptures in Hongneung have much in common with those in Jangneung of King Injo (Joseon's 16th monarch), Yungneung of Prince Sado (the second son of King Yeongjo), and Geolleung of King Jeongjo (Joseon's 22nd monarch). The similarity is interpreted as reflecting his desire to weaken the power of his royal relatives who made troubles during the reigns of the three preceding kings, and to restore the authority of the king, which had been strong during the reigns of King Yeongjo and King Jeongjo. Plus, Gojong was the actual successor to King Yeongjo and King Jeongjo because he was adopted by King Ikjong and Queen Sinjeong. The tomb structure of Yureung is modeled after that of Hongneung. What is notable is that the stone sculptures, human statues and animals along the sides of the spirit road in front of the bedchamber, are remarkably realistic and sophisticated compared to those at Hongneung. The stone sculptures of Yureung were based on a design by a Japanese sculptor Aiba Hikojiro, and it took more than one year to make them, i.e., more than twice the time needed to create stone sculptures for a traditional Korean royal tomb. Although the stone sculptures along the spirit road are very sophisticated, the work on those in the burial area is less skilled than Hongneung'sstone sculptures. Placed in the near vicinity, Hongneung and Yureung are similar in terms of the layout of the stone sculptures, but are different in regards to their style, with the latter being more realistic and sophisticated than the former. Yet the two imperial tombs are equally important. Although Hongneung is modest and humble compared to Yureung, it is historically significant because the tomb was the first “Imperial Tomb of the Joseon Dynasty”planned by King Gojong at the start of the Daehan Jeguk in order to strengthen his power. Yureung is also historically critical since it reveals Japanese political motivation and infulence during its colonial rule over Korea. By making more realistic and sophisticated stone sculptures than those in Hongneung, they tried to impose the perception that the stone sculptures made by Joseon artisans were inferior in quality than those created by Japanese sculptors. Japan placed less skillfully crafted stone sculptures in the burial area, which are off limits to the public, and more stylish ones on the spirit road, which are open to ordinary people, providing yet more revelatory evidence of Japanese political intentions.