Royal ancestral rituals of the Joseon Dynasty were reenacted at Jongmyo Shrine in central Seoul on Sunday. The rituals and music are featured on the UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list.
 
[Sound bite: ritual procession in downtown Seoul (May 7)]  
 
The rituals were jointly organized by the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation.
 
The rituals were followed by a procession of one-thousand people dressed as the king, court officials and royal security guards from Gwanghwamun Square in front of Gyeongbok Palace to Jongmyo Shrine through the Sejong-ro intersection. 
  
Around 30-thousand citizens gathered to watch the rituals, the biggest and most important among the royal family’s memorial services for their ancestors during the Joseon Dynasty.

The Confucian ritual, practised once a year in May, was inscribed on the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008.