The Bond Formed by Willow Leaves: Taejo Yi Seong-gye and Queen Shindeok Have Arrived

Seongbuk-gu Successfully Hosts the 8th Jeongneung Willow Leaf Festival... Thriving Event on the 28th from 2 to 6 PM at Jeongneung, Jeongneung Market Resident Participation Square, and Surrounding Areas

The 8th Jeongneung Willow Leaf Festival was grandly held on the 28th in the Jeongneung area, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site located in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul.

The Jeongneung Willow Leaf Festival is a festival that utilizes the legend of the first meeting between Queen Shindeok and King Taejo Yi Seong-gye, who rest in Jeongneung. It is organized in harmony by the residents of the four Jeongneung neighborhoods, Jeongneung 1 to 4-dong. The festival took place from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. that day, centered around the Jeongneung Market Residents Participation Square and various locations throughout Jeongneung-dong.

The four Jeongneung neighborhoods take turns hosting the festival each year, and this year Jeongneung 3-dong was in charge. The hosting neighborhood is responsible for the royal procession, which is considered the highlight of the festival. In Jeongneung, boasting even more splendid scenery in autumn, the royal procession majestically set off. Citizens on the streets waved their hands and cheered for King Taejo Yi Seong-gye and Queen Shindeok.

The procession lasted about an hour and stopped at the main event venue, the Jeongneung Market Residents Participation Square. About 1,000 residents waiting for King Taejo Yi Seong-gye and Queen Shindeok at the square welcomed them with applause. The main event officially began as Yi Seong-gye and Queen Shindeok exchanged gourds filled with water floating willow leaves.

The main event was also prepared by Jeongneung 3-dong. Joyful performances followed, including a lively song by Kim Soyu, the daughter of a rice cake shop and a contestant on Miss Trot, the musical Taepyeongga, and a Nanta performance.

Before the main event started, Jeongneung 1-dong enriched the atmosphere with residents’ participation performances and cultural performances by local art groups. Jeongneung 2-dong prepared seven experience events, bringing joy to family visitors. Jeongneung 4-dong set up five food stalls to delight visitors’ palates.

Lee Seung-ro, mayor of Seongbuk-gu, said, “The Jeongneung Willow Leaf Festival, which is organized together by the residents of the four Jeongneung neighborhoods using the beautiful legend of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Jeongneung and King Taejo Yi Seong-gye and Queen Shindeok, has already established itself as a representative festival attracting visitors nationwide. We will actively support the growth and substance of the festival through administration.”

The Jeongneung Willow Leaf legend tells of King Taejo Yi Seong-gye discovering a well while hunting a tiger and asking a beautiful maiden who was there for water. The maiden cleverly floated willow leaves on the water to prevent him from drinking it hastily, impressing Yi Seong-gye so much that he took her as his wife and honored her as Queen Shindeok.