Umi Hope Foundation Digitally Recreates Joseon Dynasty Gyeongbokgung Palace Court Rituals

The Umi Hope Foundation, together with the Cultural Heritage Administration, Seoul Metropolitan Government, and Cheil Worldwide, held the “1887 Gyeongbokgung Jinhalye Digital Reproduction Unveiling Event” on the morning of the 21st at Geunjeongjeon Hall in Gyeongbokgung Palace, revealing historical and cultural content reproduced through augmented reality (AR) and extended reality (XR).

Commemorative photo of the '1887 Gyeongbokgung Jinhalye Digital Reproduction Unveiling Event' (from left: Kim Sang-han, Director of Planning and Coordination Office, Seoul Metropolitan Government; Lee Kyung-hoon, Deputy Administrator of Cultural Heritage Administration; Lee Seok-jun, Chairman of Umi Hope Foundation; Kim Jong-hyun, CEO of Cheil Worldwide)
[Photo by Umi Hope Foundation]

At the event, Lee Seok-jun, Chairman of the Umi Hope Foundation, Lee Kyung-hoon, Deputy Director of the Cultural Heritage Administration, Kim Sang-han, Director of Planning and Coordination at Seoul Metropolitan Government, and Kim Jong-hyun, CEO of Cheil Worldwide, among others, personally experienced the digitally reproduced 1887 Gyeongbokgung Jinhalye.

Through this digital reproduction of the 1887 Gyeongbokgung Jinhalye, the royal court ceremony celebrating Queen Sinjeong’s 80th birthday, held at Geunjeongjeon Hall in Gyeongbokgung Palace in 1887 (the 24th year of King Gojong’s reign), can now be experienced anytime and anywhere. This is the third outcome of the public-private cooperative digital cultural heritage restoration project, following the 2019 unveiling of the Hanyangdoseong fortress gate ‘Donuimun (Seodaemun)’ and the digital restoration of the Gun-gi-si (Joseon Dynasty’s military equipment manufacturing office) in February this year. It is highly regarded for digitally reproducing intangible cultural heritage following the lost tangible cultural heritages (Donuimun, Gun-gi-si).

In particular, the project was based on various historical records such as the UNESCO Memory of the World heritage document ‘Jeonghaejinchan Uigwe’ and the folding screen ‘Jeonghaejinchan Dobyeong’ depicting Queen Sinjeong’s 80th birthday celebration, including the ‘Geunjeongjeon Jinhaldo’ scene. Experts in Joseon Dynasty rituals such as Professor Kim Moon-sik of Dankook University, Professor Lee Geun-ho of Chungnam National University, Senior Researcher Ahn Tae-wook of the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, and traditional costume expert Researcher Lee Min-joo contributed their expertise.

The digitally reproduced “1887 Gyeongbokgung Jinhalye” can be experienced using the heritage metaverse app “Gongjon,” just like the digitally restored Donuimun and Gun-gi-si. When the “Gongjon” app is launched at Geunjeongjeon Hall in Gyeongbokgung Palace, the Jinhalye scene from 136 years ago unfolds before your eyes in augmented reality. As the Joseon Dynasty court music “Yeominrak” plays, over 300 figures including King Gojong appear, and the proclamation of the royal edict and the officials’ cries of “Cheonse” are reenacted.

In addition to the Jinhalye AR experience, interactive features with special characters such as the king and the gatekeeper, treasure hunts within Geunjeongjeon for items like the Ten Longevity Symbols folding screen and Haetae statues, and fun elements like the “Joseon Dynasty AI Profile,” which merges users’ faces with royal court ceremonial costumes, have been added.

Metaverse content was also introduced that allows people worldwide to experience the Jinhalye without spatial or temporal restrictions, even without visiting Gyeongbokgung Palace. Users can create their own avatars in the “Gongjon” app and experience the 1887 Gyeongbokgung Jinhalye scene. Additionally, visitors can use touch screen kiosks installed in the palace’s haengrang (servants’ quarters) to enjoy the Jinhalye AR wide view and 3D experiences of key ceremonial artifacts.

Lee Seok-jun, Chairman of the Umi Hope Foundation, said, “Five years ago, we started a new type of social contribution project that restores our cultural heritage, which is impossible to restore in the real world, using digital technology. Following Donuimun in 2019 and Gun-gi-si in 2023, we have developed the third project to allow continuous experience of the Gyeongbokgung Jinhalye, which will increase accessibility to cultural heritage and is expected to be activated as historical educational content.”

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