Jongmyo - Royal Shrine, Seoul

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Jongmyo is the royal ancestral shrine of Joseon Dynasty. The spirit tablets of its kings and queens are enshrined. The main hall Jeongjeon has 19 rooms which contain 49 tablets. Hall of Everlasting Peace Yeongnyeongjeon has 16 rooms which contain 34 tablets. The present buildings were reconstructed in 1608. The shrine is closed on Tuesdays like Changgyeongung. The admission fee is 1000 W which also gives you access for Changgyeongung.

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Jongmyo is where the Joseon Royal's were enshrines . The whole shrine is a huge area full of trees and gardens. It's a great escape from the noise of the city.

On the first sunday of May the ancestral rites are performed. The ritual involves about two thousand people who offer goods to the ancestors, sing and march to GyongBukGung.

Unesco has recognized the ritual music as an important intangible cultural asset.

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Jongmyo is a UNESCO Heritage designated shrine in Seoul. There's a guide to tour you around lasting for an hour. Entrance is W1000. English tour starts at 10AM. The guide speaks incomprehensible English so better focus on your surroundings instead. If you're interested in old heritage sites, then this place is for you. You will be struck by its sheer simplicity. It is dedicated to the memorial services for the deceased kings & queens of the Joseon Dynasty.

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Built in 1394, this is a shrine to the kings of the Joseon Dynasty. It was built to house the spirit tablets for 4 of King Taejo's ancestors but since then tablets for all the Joseon dynasty kings and queens have been added.

Jongmyo has two shrines, one housing the ancestral tablets for the great kings and one for the not so great kings, queens and others. Jongmyo makes for a nice hour stroll.

It was built in 1394 by order of King Taejo and expanded by King Sejong who built the Yeongnyeongjeon Hall. The original buildings were destoryed by the Japanese in the 1590s, then the entire complex was rebuilt in 1601 and still survives today. Jongmyo has 19 chambers for 19 kings and their 30 queens. Two kings are not enshrined here.

When constructed, this was thought ot be the longest building in Asia, and is still the longest building of Korean traditional construction in existence.

Jongmyo (종묘) is located across a walking bridge from Changgyeongung. Paying the entrance fee to one allows you free access the other if you use this bridge (1,000 won). Five minutes from the Jongno 3 Station, exit 8.

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This UNESCO world heritage site is just located beside the Changdeokgung Palace, another WHC site. The shrine is very quiet for most part of the year, so it's normal not to see any event when you visit there. Their annual ceremony is the oldest complete ceremony in the world and it is held on the first Sunday of May. It has not changed for over 500 years.

This is the royal ancestral shrine of the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910). The spirit tablets of its Kings and Queens are enshrined and memorial rites are observed. The building are beautiful and well worth a visit.

The whole complex is dramatic, but in keeping with so much of Korean culture, simple and extremely elegant: the clutter and intricacy of Chinese and Japanese art and architecture is completely absent in Korea and, as a result, Korean symbolism and art has a much fresher feel. At Jongmyo, this simplicity creates an aura of great dignity, with a vast stone terrace lying in front of a long, low building.
A few metres south of Chongjeon is the Eusokil buildings where reigning kings and princes would ceremonially bathe and wash before paying respect to his ancestors. Close to the doorway here, note the rare Manchurian Walnut tree – it’s about the tenth tree on the left as you walk down the path.
At the entrance – or the exit for most – is a very beautiful small pool, flanked by an ancient juniper tree and with cypress, juniper and Korean azaleas on a small island. This part of the gardens is a meeting place for old men, and there is much animated discussion on the stone and woodent benches among the trees.
As at most of Seoul’s major sites, there are free information leaflets with a map. Unfortunately, if you are coming from Changgyeonggung, you will not get one until you arrive at the exit!
Note that in some guidebooks, a different form of Romanization is used for the official names of buildings: Changgyeonggung, for example, is written Ch’anggyouggung. Usually the names are so similar that is doesn’t matter!