Jongmyo

“Beneath the long roof, five hundred years of rites flow on”

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Photo: 문화재청 (Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea) · KOGL Type 1

Scenes

The long main hall, its end out of sightCultural Heritage Administration · KOGL Type 1

Yeongnyeongjeon, the second hall of spirit tabletskallerna · CC BY-SA 4.0

Meaning

Standing before the main hall, so long its end seems out of sight, you feel stillness settle over the wide stone terrace.

A Confucian shrine where the spirit tablets of Joseon's kings and queens are enshrined and honored with ancestral rites; the Jongmyo Jerye ritual and its royal music are handed down together. It is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Field notes

Location: Seoul · Korea · N37.6° · E127.0°
Best time: On the day of the Jongmyo Daeje rite in May, or when autumn casts long shadows across the main hall
Getting there: A short walk from Jongno 3-ga Station in Seoul; on weekdays and Sundays entry is by guided tour, with free visiting on Saturdays and the last Wednesday of each month.
Etiquette: Quiet is kept along the visiting route through the ritual grounds.

Sources

· UNESCO World Heritage
· Cultural Heritage Administration (Korea)

Official site Wikipedia

Photographs are freely licensed works from Wikimedia Commons and similar sources; the author and license appear beneath each image.