Brought back to life after 220 years, the lavish royal birthday celebration of a Joseon-era crown princess was recreated at the Changgyeonggung Palace in Seoul on Friday and Saturday.

The National Gugak Center performed a grand reenactment of one of the country’s most illustrious royal birthday celebrations ever recorded in the history books -- the eight-day festival that King Jeongjo hosted for the 60th birthday of his mother, Hyegyeonggung, the Lady Hong.

The one-hour reenactment gave audience members a small taste of what the weeklong festivities would have been like two centuries ago, featuring a royal banquet filled with traditional song, dance and gugak musical performances.  


“Today’s performance is based on Uigwe, one of the best recorded cultural heritages in the world, which records the royal protocols of the Joseon era,” said Kim Jong-deok, the culture minister, in an official statement.

“I hope this contributes to globalizing our traditional culture, leading to a ‘culturally prosperous Korea,’” he added. 


King Jeongjo, whose filial piety was one of his best known qualities as ruler, was the 22nd king of the Joseon era. His filial piety stemmed from witnessing the tragic death of his father as a child.

King Jeongjo’s father, Crown Prince Sado, was famously killed by his own father -- King Yeongjo -- who placed his son inside a rice chest for eight consecutive days until he eventually perished.

Lady Hong’s birthday celebration lasted eight days in remembrance of her husband.

“Traditional culture that is reenacted based and evidenced on historical records holds the spirit of the times, as well as its cultural stands,” said Rha Sun-hwa, administrator for the Cultural Heritage Administration. “And thus it becomes the core of what makes the present and the future of our culture so abundant.”

By Julie Jackson (juliejackson@heraldcorp.com)