Joseon Royal Tombs Festival to Open at Yungneung on the 16th with a 67-Person “Procession of Eternity”

[Financial News] The opening ceremony of the 2026 World Heritage Joseon Royal Tombs Festival will be held at Yungneung in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. A procession of 67 people based on royal rituals and highlights from a musical about Crown Prince Sado and King Jeongjo will mark the start of the festival.
On the 16th, the Korea Heritage Agency said that the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center of the Korea Heritage Service and the agency would hold the opening ceremony at a purpose-built stage at Yungneung from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. The main events will take place from the 17th to the 25th at 12 Joseon royal tomb sites, including Yungneung and Geolleung, Donggureung and Seooreung.
The opening ceremony’s first event, “The Procession of Eternity,” was designed with reference to a funeral procession illustration in the Jangjo Yeonguwon Cheonbong Dogam Uigwe. Sixty-seven people, including members of the honor guard, will form a procession featuring a palanquin carrying a spirit tablet box and flags bearing commemorative poems, and proceed from the ritual house to the hongsalmun, or red-lattice gate. This will be followed by a recitation of a ritual prayer in jeongga, a traditional vocal music genre, and a performance of jijjeonchum, a traditional dance using paper.
Highlights from the royal tomb musical “Peach Blossoms, Thinking of Them Makes Me Sad @ Yungneung and Geolleung” will also be performed. Actors from the full production will appear, including Choi Jae-rim as Crown Prince Sado, Song Yong-tae as King Yeongjo, Jeon Su-mi as Lady Hyegyeong Hong, and Gu Jun-mo as King Jeongjo.
Set at Yungneung, where Crown Prince Sado and Lady Hyegyeong Hong are buried, the musical explores Sado’s grief and Jeongjo’s filial piety. The full production will be staged at 7:30 p.m. on the 17th and 18th and the 24th and 25th at a purpose-built stage at Yungneung.
In 1789, Jeongjo moved his father Crown Prince Sado’s tomb from Baebongsan Mountain in what is now Seoul’s Dongdaemun District to its present site and named it Hyeollyungwon. Hyeollyungwon was elevated to the status of a royal tomb in 1899 and renamed Yungneung.
The festival will also feature the outdoor concert “Royal Stage,” the lecture program “Royal Tomb Humanities Academy,” as well as tours, hands-on activities and exhibitions. The 19th is a closure day, but some programs will still operate.
The opening ceremony is free, and advance reservations are available through Ticketlink. Schedules and participation details for each program can be found on the websites of the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center, the Korea Heritage Agency and the Joseon Royal Tombs Festival.

[email protected] Jang In-seo Reporter