The Lost Joseon Dynasty Government Office 'Gungisi' and Gyeongbokgung Palace 'Royal Court Rituals' Recreated with AR and VR

Seoul City-Cultural Heritage Administration-Woomee Construction-Cheil Worldwide Collaborate on Digital Restoration of Cultural Heritage... MOU on 6th
Military Office 'Gunsigi' Restored with AR·VR After Over 100 Years Since Demolition, Experience Ancient Weapons Too

The site of Gungisi preserved in the Gungisi Relics Exhibition Room inside the Seoul City Hall

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Joseon Dynasty government office ‘Gungisi (軍器寺)’, established simultaneously with the founding of Joseon and responsible for manufacturing military supplies such as weapons, is being revived through AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) technology. It has been about 100 years since it was demolished. Various royal court ceremonies held at Gyeongbokgung, Joseon’s foremost royal palace, will also be recreated using AR.

On the 6th, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that, together with the Cultural Heritage Administration, Woomee Construction, and Cheil Worldwide, they will restore and reproduce the now-disappeared ‘Gungisi’ and ‘Gyeongbokgung royal court ceremonies’ using digital technologies such as AR and VR, and develop them into cultural tourism convergence experience content. The project is scheduled to be unveiled to citizens next year.

Currently, if you point your smartphone at the interior and exterior of Seoul City Hall, where the ‘Gungisi Relics Exhibition Hall’ is located, you can vividly see the appearance of the old Gungisi. Also, when pointing a smartphone inside Gyeongbokgung, scenes of royal court ceremonies are reproduced on the screen as if you have traveled back in time.

This project is a digital cultural heritage restoration following the 2019 restoration of ‘Donuimun (敦義門)’, aiming to provide an experience that transcends time and space through convergence content combining history, technology, and storytelling, and to create a new model for historical tourism.

First, ‘Gungisi’ will restore five remaining relics within the underground ‘Gungisi Relics Exhibition Hall’ at Seoul City Hall. The interior and exterior of the old Gungisi can be vividly viewed through AR, and the entire Gungisi can be observed using VR devices. Content is also being planned to allow users to experience traditional weapons developed at Gungisi, including the world’s first rocket weapon, ‘Singijeon (神機箭)’.

‘Gyeongbokgung royal court ceremonies’ will be recreated in AR, including the morning assembly (朝會) held at Geunjeongjeon where the king and key officials discussed state affairs, and royal banquets such as ‘Yeonhyang’. Royal court ceremonies, which were only reenacted during special events, will now be vividly experienced anytime via smartphone.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to expand the functions of the ‘Donuimun AR’ app, released in 2019 alongside the digital restoration of Donuimun, so that users can experience Donuimun, Gungisi, and Gyeongbokgung royal court ceremonies all in one app. Subsequently, the content will be expanded to include government offices (Gungisi) and palaces (Gyeongbokgung), building a ‘Heritage Universe’ that connects and converges individual digital cultural heritages through integrated digital technology.

On the morning of the same day, at Heungbokjeon in Gyeongbokgung, a ‘Memorandum of Understanding for the Activation of Cultural Heritage and Cultural Tourism Convergence Content’ was signed, attended by Jo In-dong, First Deputy Mayor of Seoul, Kim Hyun-mo, Administrator of the Cultural Heritage Administration, Bae Young-han, President of Woomee Construction, and Yoo Jung-geun, President of Cheil Worldwide.

The four organizations will sequentially proceed with verification work, digital content production, and installation of experience spaces starting with this agreement, aiming to complete the project within next year. According to the agreement, Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Cultural Heritage Administration will be responsible for overall planning, promotion, and administrative support. Woomee Construction will sponsor the costs necessary for digital restoration and content development. Cheil Worldwide will execute the project and support promotion.

Jo In-dong, First Deputy Mayor of Seoul, said, “Through this agreement, we will continuously develop new forms of experiential and tourism resources that combine history, technology, and storytelling. We will do our best to enable citizens to feel the breath of history in their daily lives and to take pride in Seoul’s cultural heritage. We hope that this successful example of public-private cooperation will continue and serve as an opportunity to revitalize the tourism industry, which has been stagnant due to COVID-19.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.