Wearing the Gonryongpo and Tasting Jeho-tang: Experiencing Royal Culture at the Museum and Art Museum Fair

[Financial News] Visitors in Daejeon will be able to try on clothing worn by kings and queens of the Joseon Dynasty and taste a royal beverage. An educational program will also allow children and their guardians to learn about royal medical culture together.
The National Palace Museum of Korea said on the 15th that it will participate in the 2026 Museum and Art Museum Fair, which will be held from the 18th to the 20th at the Daejeon Convention Center in Yuseong District, Daejeon, and operate royal-culture experience and education programs.
The fair is an event where related institutions share the latest trends and network with one another. This year’s theme is “K-Culture, Museums Opening the Future—Expansion, Transformation, and Future Orientation.”
At the 2024 fair, the museum held the “Make Emperor Sunjong’s Royal Car” educational program twice. This year, it will set up its own promotional space for the first time. The space brings together family education and hands-on activities, connecting royal heritage with play and learning.
The signature program, “A Wise Life as a Royal Physician,” teaches visitors about the role of Naeuiwon, the Joseon royal medical office, and dietary therapy. Dietary therapy refers to managing health by treating or preventing illness through food. Participants will also observe medicinal ingredients and practice placing acupuncture needles on a bronze human figure.
The program is designed for children in grades three through six of elementary school and their guardians, with one child and one guardian forming a team. It will run for one hour at 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. on the 18th and 19th, for a total of four sessions.
Participation is free, and advance applications are accepted through the museum’s website. Applications and cancellations can be made until two days before the program begins.
Three programs will accept on-site applications. In “Exploring Royal Artifacts in Textbooks,” participants will handle educational materials modeled after the Royal Seal and Jongmyo ritual vessels and complete activity sheets.
In “Put on Royal Attire and Take a Snapshot!” visitors can wear the gonryongpo royal dragon robe and Jeokui and take photographs. At “The King’s Refreshing Drink: Jeho-tang Tasting,” they can sample Jeho-tang, a summer beverage of the Joseon royal court.
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