A royal feast from 198 years ago comes back to life at Changdeokgung

A royal court banquet that Crown Prince Hyomyeong held at Yeongyeongdang in 1828 to celebrate his mother Queen Sunwon's 40th birthday will be recreated at the original site for the first time in 198 years.

The Changdeokgung Palace Management Office under the Cultural Heritage Administration's Palace and Royal Tomb Management Division will stage a restored performance of the "Joseon Sunjo Mujanyeon Yeongyeongdang Jinjak Ritual" at Yeongyeongdang in the rear garden of Changdeokgung Palace in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Nov. 3 and 4 at 11 a.m. The event is organized in partnership with the World Folk Dance Research Institute, affiliated with the Korea National University of Arts' Dance School.

The "jinjak" ritual was a ceremony in which royal subjects offered wine and food to the king on special occasions. This performance reconstructs the court banquet that Crown Prince Hyomyeong staged at Yeongyeongdang in the sixth lunar month of 1828 to mark Queen Sunwon's 40th birthday, based on records in the "Sunjo Muja Jinjak Uigwe," a royal protocol document from the reign of King Sunjo.

Held over two days at the very site where the original ritual took place, the performances will feature 10 of the 17 court dance pieces documented in the "Sunjo Muja Jinjak Uigwe" — among them "Bakjeommu," a dance evoking the flutter of butterfly wings, and "Chungwangho," a piece praying for an era of peace and prosperity. The event offers audiences a chance to appreciate the authentic form of royal court ritual and traditional dance, as well as the significance of Changdeokgung Palace as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Joseon Royal Protocols as a UNESCO Memory of the World.

Admission is free for visitors who have already purchased a ticket to the Changdeokgung rear garden (garden entry fee applies separately). Further details are available on the Changdeokgung Palace Management Office website.

"We hope this restored jinjak performance will give the public a more accessible introduction to royal court banquets," the Changdeokgung Palace Management Office said.