Seoul City Wall Time Machine
Introduction
Seoul City Wall
About the Project
Themes
Sajikdan Altar
Sajikdaeje Ritual
- Ritual Officiants and Their Costume
- Instruments and Dance Objects
- Ritual Vessels
Gyeongbokgung Palace
Palace Rituals and Ceremonies (Royal Banquets)
- Costume of Banquet Participants
- Banquet Objects (Flowers, Tableware)
- Instruments and Dancing Objects
Buildings and Other Structures
Six Ministries Street
Government Offices
Office of the Royal Family
The Office of the Royal Family, called Jongchinbu in Korean, was an administrative bureau of the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910) which managed affairs relating to the royal family. Among its responsibilities were record-keeping of the royal genealogy, storing portraits and seals of the king, taking care of the official robes of the king and queen, and dealing with matters relating to the official titles and government posts of the relatives and descendants of the royal family.
The royal family of the Joseon dynasty consisted of the kings and their offspring, i.e. the princes and princesses, who all belonged to the Jeonju Yi clan, as well as their female consorts (i.e. the daughters-in-law), who belonged to other clans but whose descendants would be born into the Jeonju Yi clan. Any male or their daughter who was born to a descendant of the founding king of the dynasty, Yi Seong-gye (King Taejo) was thus considered a royal relative. The sons-in-law of the family, who married the princesses, were not officially considered a royal relative, as although their wives belonged to the Jeonju Yi clan, their children would be born into a different clan. However, they were nonetheless important to the royal court, and were thus managed by a different office, called Uibinbu, which was located next to the Office of the Royal Family.
The Office of the Royal Family was located across from Geonchunmun, the eastern gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace, which was the only gate of the palace which the royal relatives and court ladies were permitted to use. The office consisted of three main buildings: Gyeonggeundang, meaning “Hall of Respecting Close Relations,” and Okcheopdang, meaning “Hall of the Jade Letter,” which was another name for the royal genealogy, and Iseungdang, meaning “Hall of ???,” as well as various gates and auxiliary buildings. These auxiliary buildings and Iseungdang Hall were demolished during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945). In 1972, the remaining two buildings were designated as Seoul Tangible Cultural Heritage No. 9, and in 1981, they were moved to the premises of the nearby Jeongdok Public Library due to the construction of a tennis court. In 2013, they were returned to their original location on the premises of today’s Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art - Seoul.
An office for managing the royal family was first established during the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392) under a different name. The bureau was given its current name in 1430. In 1867, the office was built anew, and it is the buildings from this reconstruction that remain today. The office was closed in 1907, shortly after Korea was illegally forced into a becoming a protectorate of the Japanese Empire in 1905, and its responsibilities were taken over by the Kyujanggak Royal Library. In 1928, the Japanese colonial authorities opened an affiliated hospital of the Keijō Imperial University Medical College on the premises of the Office of the Royal Family. This hospital was later used as the Korean Armed Forces Capital Hospital before being renovated for use by the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in 2013. The various extant records and artifacts once produced and stored at the Office of the Royal Family are now kept at institutions such as the Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies, the Jangseogak Archives, the National Palace Museum, and the National Museum of Korea.
Artifacts of the Royal Family
- Portraits of kings
- Costumes of kings and queens
- Excavated artifacts such as placenta chamber monuments and jars
Resources
Books
- Joseon Royal Court Culture - Ceremonial and Daily Life (2004 / Shin Myung-ho; Trans. Timothy V. Atkinson / Dolbegae Publishers)
- Table of Contents
- Court Paintings from the Joseon Dynasty (2016 / Park Jeong-hye / Seoul Selection)
- Selected Relevant Entries
- Korean Architecture: Breathing with Nature (2012 / Ben Jackson, Robert Koehler / Seoul Selection)
- Joseon's Royal Heritage: 500 Years of Splendor (2011, Robert Koehler, Seoul Selection)
- Table of Contents
- Confucian Ritual Music of Korea (2008 / Song Hye-jin / Seoul Selection)
- Korean Court Dance (2010 / Lee Hung-gu / Seoul Selection)
- Korean Dance: Pure Emotion and Energy (2013 / Curtis File / Seoul Selection)
- Selected Chapters
- Religion in Korea (2012 / Robert Koehler / Seoul Selection)
- Selected Chapters
- Traditional Music (2011 / Robert Koehler, Byeon Ji-yeon / Seoul Selection)
- Traditional Painting: Window on the Korean Mind (2010 / Robert Koehler et al. / Seoul Selection)
- The Institutional Basis of Civil Governance in the Choson Dynasty' (2009 / John B. Duncan, Jung Chul Lee, Jeong-il Lee, Michael Ahn, Jack A. Davey / Seoul Selection)
- Politics and Policy in Traditional Korea (1991 / James B. Palais / Harvard University Press)
- Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions: Yu Hyŏngwŏn and the Late Chosŏn Dynasty (1996 / James B. Palais / University of Washington Press)
- Sourcebook of Korean Civilization: From the Seventeenth Century to the Modern Period (1996 / Ed. Peter H. Lee / Colubia University Press)
- Great Korean Portraits: Immortal Images of the Noble and the Brave (2010 / Cho Sun-mie; Trans. Lee Kyong-hee / Dolbegae)
- Festive Occasions: The Customs in Korea (2008 / Yoon Seo-seok; Trans. Cho Yoon-jung and Park Hyun-ju / Ewha Womans University Press)
- Traditional Korean Painting' (2011 / Hong Sun-pyo; Trans. Cho Yoon-jung and Park Hyun-ju / Ewha Womans University Press)
- An Introduction to Korean Traditional Performing Arts (2009 / Nam Sang-suk and Gim Hae-suk / Minsokwon)
- Korean Arts of the Eighteenth Century—Splendor & Simplicity (1993 / Asia Society Galleries)
- A Review of Korean History: Joseon Era. Volume 2 (2010 / Han Young Woo; Trans. Chaibong Hahm / Kyongsewon)
Museum Publications
National Palace Museum of Korea
- National Palace Museum of Korea in Seven Themes (2019 / Trans. Jangtongbang - An Soyean, Kwon Yegee, Park Shinhee; Proof. William Sharp)
- Table of Contents
- The King at the Palace: Joseon Royal Court Culture at the National Palace Museum of Korea (2015 / Trans. Kwon Cheeyun; Proof. Yoo Hyemin, Kim Bobae, Park Suhee)
- Table of Contents
- The Illustrated Dictionary of the Joseon Royal Culture - Costume (2012 / Trans. 유아름, Proof. 조윤정)
- The Illustrated Dictionary of the Joseon Royal Culture - Court Music and Dances *English intro only (Trans. 이종찬)
- Royal Palanquins of the Joseon Dynasty (2011 / Trans. 이지현)
- Royal Palanquins of the Joseon Dynasty
- Ceremonial Implements for Royal Processions
- Structure of a Palanquin / Terminology of Palanquin Parts
- Royal Palanquins of the Joseon Period
- Joseon Royal Processions
Seoul Museum of History
- Hanyangdoseong, the Seoul City Wall (2015 / Trans. Timothy Atkinson)
Exhibitions (Including Annex Museums)
- Supyo-gyo Bridge: Hanyang in the Rain / 2020 - Cheonggyecheon Museum
- Sunkyunkwan National Academy and Its Surrounding Village, Banchon / 2019
- Uigeumbu (State Tribunal) in the Gyeonpyeong-bang District / 2019 - City Site Museum
- The Floodgates of the City Wall / 2019 - Dongdaemun History Museum
- Namsomundongcheon Stream, Flowing from Jangchungdan to Ingansumun Gate / 2018 - Cheonggyecheon Museum
- Joseon Military Installations on the Capital's East Side / 2018
- Stream Dredging: Connecting King and the People / 2017 - - Cheonggyecheon Museum
- Baekundongcheon Stream - a stream turning at every corner into the clouds / 2017 - Cheonggyecheon Museum
- Unhyeongung Palace and Regent Hungseon Daewongun / 2017
National Gugak Center
- Ritual Music of the Korean Court - Korean Musicology Series, Vol. 8 (2015 / Ed. Kim Hee-sun, CedarBough Saeji)
National Museum of Korea
- Quarterly Magazine Vol. 16 (2011 / Trans. Timothy V. Atkinson, Cho Yoonjung, Lee Mi-jin)
- Culture of the Joseon Royal Family: Events and Ceremonies at the Pinnacle of Society
- The Return of the Oegyujanggak Uigwe from France: Records of the State Rites of the Joseon Dynasty
Online Resources
- "Royal Genealogical Records of the Joseon Royal Family" - Materials on Korean Studies (2008 / Won Chang-ae / The Review of Korean Studies)
UNESCO
World Heritage Sites
- Jongmyo Shrine / 1995
- Chandeokgung Palace Complex / 1997
- Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty / 2009
Memory of the World
- Annals of the Choson Dynasty / 1997
- Hunminjeongum Manuscript / 1997
- Seungjeongwon Ilgi, the Diaries of the Royal Secretariat / 2001
- Uigwe: The Royal Protocols of the Joseon Dynasty / 2007
- Ilseongnok: Records of Daily Reflections / 2011
- Royal Seal and Investiture Book Collection of the Joseon Dynasty / 2017