Colonial excavations of Silla dynasty tombs in the Gyeongju area were most active in the 1920s. The Japanese authorities considered it necessary to excavate and preserve relics from Gyeongju in order to know the ancient history of Korea. It paid attention to the area, believing that Gyeongju was an area formerly occupied by the Japanese Empress Jingu (Himiko) in the ancient period and where Koreans had many interactions with Japan. After the discovery of Geumgwanchong (The Tomb of Golden Crown) in 1921 during building extension work, Machong (The Tomb of Harness) and Ssansangchong (The Tomb of Twin Coffins) were found in 1922, Geumnyeongchong (The Tomb of Golden Bell) and Singnichong (The Tomb of Gilt-bronze Shoes) in 1924, and Seobongchong (The Tomb of Golden Crown with Three Phoenix-shaped Ornaments, which was excavated by the Swedish Crown Prince) was discovered in 1926.
Many relics, including a golden crown and silver boxes, were excavated from Seobongchong, a tomb consisting of a stone mound with a large coffin that was hard to rob. But the excavation damaged the original form of the tomb. The existence of Seobongchong was already known but it could not be excavated due to lack of budget. The excavation project started in 1926 when the locomotive sheds at Gyeongju Station were expanded and soil from the tomb’s mound was used for construction purposes. As a result, the tomb’s mound was destroyed. The Japanese authorities also used Seobongchong for diplomatic purposes when they let the Swedish Crown Prince Gustav participate in the excavation project. In 1935, the director of the Pyeongyang Museum behaved indecently, even letting a 『gisaeng』 (the lowest class female for high class men at salon during Joseon period) try on the golden crown from the tomb on her head during a drinking party of celebrating an exhibition of relics from Seobongchong. In other words, Japanese attention to Seobongchong did not necessarily result in the earnest preservation of its relics.