"Shall We Go Meet the King?"... Pyeongtaek City to Reenact 'Manggwolrae' Ceremony on the 23rd

Held at Paengseong-eup Welfare Center and Paengseong-eup Gaeksa Area

Pyeongtaek City in Gyeonggi Province will hold the 'The Road to Meet the King' event on the 23rd at Paengseong-eup Administrative Welfare Center and the Paengseong-eup Guesthouse area.

This event reenacts the 'Manggwolrye (望闕禮),' a ceremony in which the magistrate of Paengseong-hyeon during the Joseon Dynasty paid respects to the king in Hanyang, and it is a major cultural event in Pyeongtaek City. Since 2015, it has been promoted as part of the 'Saengsaeng Cultural Heritage Project,' supported by subsidies from Pyeongtaek City and the Cultural Heritage Administration.

'Manggwolrye' refers to a ritual where local governors, unable to visit the palace due to the distance, show respect and loyalty to the king by carving the character ‘Gwol (闕),’ a symbol of the king and palace, onto wooden plaques. These plaques are enshrined in the guesthouses of local government offices, where the governors perform the ceremony.

During the event, various programs such as the reenactment of Manggwolrye, the magistrate’s procession, traditional performances, and traditional experiences will be held. The magistrate’s procession is carried out through voluntary participation of local residents.

The event will also feature a play by the theater troupe Baedari titled 'Today, What Day Is It?', which portrays the identity of the event. Additionally, residents dressed as commoners during the magistrate’s procession will perform an impromptu play called gyeokjaeng, where they stop the procession to file complaints, and the magistrate resolves them.

The event also offers free rental of traditional costumes and a first-come, first-served family commemorative frame event.

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