Discover Korea's World Heritage

Jongmyo is a national shrine that preserves the memorial tablets for kings and queens of the Joseon Dynasty. As filial duty was highly esteemed in the Confucian kingdom, the kings of Joseon held ancestral rituals at Jongmyo Shrine to set an example, and show their filial piety to the people. The royal family’s ancestral worship culture is well illustrated in the Jongmyo Shrine, which boasts magnificent yet understated beauty and creates a sacred atmosphere through its distinctive arrangement of buildings and space. The ancestral rites, court music (Jongmyo Jeryeak) and a ritual ceremony dance (Ilmu) which used to be performed at the shrine, still survive today. Moreover, the traditional events have been held to this day since the era of King Taejo of Joseon, and this further enhances the value of Jongmyo Shrine as a cultural heritage.