The term ‘seoksu’ simply means ‘stone animal statue’ in Korean. Stone animal statues refer to those that are usually placed in front of a tomb or palace or inside of a tomb, but stones piled up around a tomb or stone images carved on the base part of stone pagodas are also considered stone animal statues. Stone animal statues originated from the funeral custom of the Later Han. At that time, Chinese people put stone animal statues in front of or around a tomb with the belief that the statues can protect the tomb. This 30.8cm tall, 49cm long and 22cm wide stone statue was discovered in the central aisle of the Tomb of King Muryeong, the 25th king of Baekje. It has a blunt muzzle and its lips still bear traces of red paint on them. It also has eyes, ears, and a big nose without nostrils. There is a leaf-shaped steel horn attached over the head. Flame patterns are engraved on the right and left sides of the body, and also on the front and rear legs. These patterns are believed to be images of wings. It seems that the sculptor tried to make it look as realistic as possible since the statue even has a tail and an anus. Despite the effort, it is generally considered of lower quality than other relics discovered from the royal Tomb of King Muryeong. It’s the first stone animal statue that was used as a guardian of a tomb to be excavated in Korea. This tomb was built for King Muryeong, the 25th king of the Baekje Dynasty who reigned from 501 to 522, and also his queen. It’s one of the most well-known royal tombs because it’s one of the rare tombs that were built with bricks, and also a great amount of burial goods - 2906 pieces of remains ranging over 108 categories - were excavated from it. They have been regarded as important sources for studying Baekje, particularly the culture and customs of the ancient kingdom. Among them, jiseok, a slab of stone inscribed with the deceased's date of birth and death together with his achievements, reveals the exact owner of the tomb and the exact date of construction. The Royal Tomb of King Muryeong is the first among all the tombs from the Three Kingdoms Period that records the name of the buried king and the exact date of construction.