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Seoul - Jongmyo Royal Shrine, South Korea

Mazoto Kyio

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Jongmyo Royal Shrine is the worshiping place for the kings of the Joseon Dynasty. It was built when the first King of the Joseon Dynasty, Lee Sung-Gye(1335-1408) founded the Joseon Dynasty. Jongmyo Royal Shrine is registered as World Cultural Heritage because the tradition and customs such as the memorial services and traditional music are very well preserved. There is a trifurcated paths in front of the main gate of Jongmyo Royal Shrine. The middle path between the slightly raised roads is for the dead kings, the east road for the king and the west road for the prince. The road in the middle is connected to Jeongjeon, and the roads on both sides are linked to a room for preparing a memorial service after performing their ablutions. After properly preparing the body and mind, the king and the prince move to Jeonsacheong. Jeonsacheong is where foods for the memorial ceremony are prepared. With the yard in the center, the buildings of Jeonsacheong are square shaped. The main building, Jeongjeon is where mortuary tablets of kings are preserved and the memorial services are held. Only this place has maintained its tradition so far, even though enshrining successive kings was originally handed down from China. Jeongjeon has 19 rooms where each room worships each king. There is Gongshinjeon within a wall of Jeongjeon which enshrines the sincere lieges. The music of Jongmyo Royal Shrine memorial services are produced by instruments, singing, and dances from 500 years ago. The melody is handed down in the same way as it was 500 years ago. This ceremony is the oldest complete ceremony in the world and is held on the first Sunday of May, yearly. It is a great chance to see the grandeur of a traditional ceremony. Source: english.tour2korea.com