Day 32: Jongmyo Shrine

It is a relatively cold day. We didn’t have enough winter gear to deal with lower than -10 degrees. So we did a quick tour in town to the Jongmyo Shrine.

Jongmyo is the supreme state shrine where the royal ancestral tablets of deceased kings and queens are enshrined and sacrificial rites are performed for them. Its construction began in December, 1394 shortly after King Taejo, the founder of Joseon Dynasty, moved the seat of his throne to Hanyang, the present day Seoul, from Gaeseong in October of the same year. The construction was completed in September, 1395.

It is interesting to know about how the traditional ceremony to the ancestors were held here with the things that needed to prepare and music to be used.Read more