Jongmyo Daeje Royal Procession

The memorial day service for all the Joseon kings

We visited Jongmyo recently which is the Royal Ancestral Shrine for the Joseon dynasty. Visitors usually have to pay an entry fee and visit the shrine in an organised tour. But on Sunday it was open to the public for the yearly memorial ceremony. I usually avoid any event in Seoul where there will be loads of people because I can’t handle large crowds. But the Jongmyo Daejo was the biggest and most important memorial rite held for royalty during the Joseon dynasty. And the ceremony is still held every year on the first Sunday in May (and once again in November), so although I wasn’t sure how much of the ceremony we would be able to see, we headed downtown where the procession began at 11:30 am from Gyeongbokgung Palace. Continue reading “Sunday May 6 was Jongmyo Daeje” »