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Jongmyo Shrine and Its History
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Jongmyo Shrine is a royal shrine where the ancestral tablets of the kings and queens of the Joseon dynasty and emperors and empresses of the Korean Empire are enshrined. It is also where rites are performed.
Jongmyo Shrine was established at its current location according to the law that dictates "with the palace in the center, Jongmyo Shrine shall be established to its left, and Sajikdan Altar to its right" in 1395 (the 4th year of King Taejo), after the foundation of the Joseon dynasty (1392). At the time of the establishment, there was only the Main Hall, so it was called Daemyo, Taemyo, or Jongmyo Shrine.
As a princely state, the Joseon dynasty honored the king's ancestors according to the omyoje (a system of honoring the four generations of the present king's ancestors and the founding king). Then, when the omyoje system came to a halt during King Sejong’s period (1418–1450), a separate shrine was built next to the Main Hall and named it Yeongnyeongjeon Hall.
Tablets succeeding four generations were moved to Yeongnyeongjeon Hall. Later, they were honored according to the law of sesil (hosting ancestral tablets for generations in the Main Hall) and jocheon (moving tablets to Yeongnyeongjeon Hall) in the King Yeonsan period (1494–1506).
According to this legal system, the royal tablets that finished their three-year mourning period (27 months) were enshrined in the Main Hall at the bumyorye ceremony (the honoring of their tablets). When the omyoje lapses, they are designated as either sesil or jocheon to be hosted in the Main Hall or Yeongnyeongjeon Hall. This explains why the Jongmyo Shrine underwent several expansions, resulting in the present-day structure of 19 kan (the distance between two columns) for the Main Hall and 16 kan for the Yeongnyeongjeon Hall.

Other facilities of the shrine include Mangmyoru Pavilion (where the officers of Jongmyo Shrine worked), Hyangdaecheong Hall (where incense and written ritual prayers were kept), Jaegung Hall (where kings and crown princes prepared for rituals), and Jeonsacheong Hall (where ritual foods were prepared).
History
Classification Detail
1395 (the 4th year of King Taejo)
Established Jongmyo Shrine; Built 7 kan for the Main Hall Enshrined the ancestral tablets of the 4 generations of ancestors of King Taejo (King Mokjo, Ikjo, Dojo, and Hwanjo)
1421 (the 3rd year of King Sejong)
Built 8 kan for Yeongnyeongjeon Hall
1546 (the 1st year of King Myeongjong)
Expanded the Main Hall by 4 kan (11 kan in total)
1592 (the 25th year of King Seonjo)
Gyeongbokgung Palace destroyed due to the Japanese invasion
1608 (ascension of King Gwanghae)
Rebuilt Jongmyo Shrine (11 kan for the Main Hall; 10 kan for Yeongnyeongjeon Hall)
1667 (the 8th year of King Hyeonjong)
Expanded Yeongnyeongjeon Hall by 2 kan (12 kan in total)
1726 (the 2nd year of King Yeongjo)
Expanded the Main Hall by 4 kan (15 kan in total)
1836 (the 2nd year of King Heonjong)
Expanded the Main Hall and Yeongnyeongjeon Hall by 4 kan each (19 kan in total for the Main Hall; 16 kan in total for Yeongnyeongjeon Hall)
1928
Enshrined the tablets of Emperor Sunjong and Empress Sunmyeong
1931
Built an overpass
1945
Abolished jongmyo jerye (the royal ancestral ritual in the Jongmyo Shine)
1963
Jongmyo Shine designated as a historic site
1964
Jongmyo jeryeak (the royal ancestral ritual music in the Jongmyo Shrine) designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Heritage
1968
Enshrined the tablet of Empress Sunjeong
1969
Resumed the royal ancestral ritual (every Oct. 1)
1971
Changed the date of the royal ancestral ritual to the first Sunday of May
1973
Enshrined the tablet of Crown Prince Yi Un (Prince Imperial Yeong)
1975
The royal ancestral ritual designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Heritage
1995
Jongmyo Shrine listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List
2001
The royal ancestral ritual and its music in the Jogmyo Shrine listed as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage