Sajikdan destroyed by Japanese to be restored

A rendered image of what the partially restored Sajikdan will look like. (Korea Heritage Service)

The Korea Heritage Service will restore parts of Sajikdan, a Joseon-era (1392-1910) altar in Jongno-gu, Seoul that was destroyed by Japan during the colonial period, according to the state-run agency.

Restoration will take place around Anhyangcheong, a building north of the altar where Joseon kings and their subjects prepared for ancestral rites. Musical instruments and other ceremony supplies were kept there as well.

The restoration will be complete by 2026, the agency said, adding it will enlist expert help and refer to old records of the altar’s history.

Joseon kings prayed to the gods of the earth and harvest at Sajikdan. Japanese colonial authorities turned the compound into a park in the 1920s. Japan ruled over the peninsula from 1910-1945.