Jongmyo Jerye Implemented with 20,000 Lego Blocks... Hyangdaecheong and More Newly Renovated

Reopening of Exhibition Space Inside Jongmyo Hyangdaecheong
Special Public Viewing of Nearby Mangmyoru Interior

The Cultural Heritage Administration's Office of Royal Palaces and Tombs and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation will reopen the exhibition space inside the Hyangdaecheong of Jongmyo Shrine starting from the 17th, coinciding with the launch of the National Heritage Administration, and will hold a special public opening of the nearby Mangmyoru interior.

Jongmyo Shrine is a shrine where the spirit tablets of the kings and queens of the Joseon Dynasty, as well as those posthumously honored as kings and queens, are enshrined and worshipped. The Hyangdaecheong, located near the pond within the shrine grounds, was a building where incense and memorial tablets used in the ancestral rites were stored. On the day of the rites, officiants would stay and wait there.

The newly renovated Hyangdaecheong exhibition hall is divided into two spaces: 'Deuo' and 'Jio'. In the former, the process of making the spirit tablets, which are also the owners of Jongmyo, is introduced through a picture book. It explains the spirit tablets of the king, ordinary yangban (aristocrats), and baehyang-gongsin (meritorious subjects enshrined in Jongmyo during the Goryeo and Joseon periods), highlighting their significance. Visitors can also trace the changes in the Jeongjeon and Yeongnyeongjeon halls of Jongmyo from 1395 to 1991.

In the latter space, the Jongmyo Jerye (Jongmyo Royal Ancestral Rite) recreated with over 20,000 LEGO pieces is unveiled for the first time. This 'LEGO Ohyangchin Jebanchado (五享親祭班次圖)' was produced in collaboration with artist Colin Jin (real name So Jin-ho), who has showcased various works using LEGO blocks. It captures the moment of the Joseon king personally performing the Jongmyo Jerye. The Ohyangchin Jebanchado is a painting included in one of the panels of the 'Jongmyo Chinje Gyuje Doseol Byungpung' folding screen held by the National Palace Museum of Korea. It depicts the seating arrangement of participants during the Jongmyo Jerye performed by the king.

Artist Colin Jin interestingly expressed 209 figures, including the king, crown prince, officiants, the orchestra and dancers performing Jongmyo Jeryeak (Jongmyo ritual music), and civil and military officials observing the rites, as well as 26 types of musical instruments by combining LEGO pieces of various sizes and shapes. A representative from the Office of Royal Palaces and Tombs explained, "The exhibition is designed to make it easy to approach the meaning and value of Jongmyo, the Jongmyo Jerye, and Jongmyo Jeryeak."

Mangmyoru, which will be specially open to the public until June, is a building whose name means a pavilion overlooking Jongmyo. It was the site of the Jongmyo Office (宗廟署), the government office that managed Jongmyo during the Joseon Dynasty. The king who came to perform the rites left commemorative writings honoring his predecessors, which were made into plaques and hung there. The Office of Royal Palaces and Tombs plans to open it from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.