Palace museum opens Joseon cuisine exhibition

A special exhibition featuring around 200 royal dishes from the Joseon era (1392-1910) will run from Wednesday through Feb. 2 at the National Palace Museum of Korea.

“Joseon’s Royal Cuisine: A Table for Food, Reverence and Sharing” explores everything from dinnerware to dining tables, cooking equipment and paintings, as well as documents related to royal cuisine.

The first section of the two-part presentation focuses on how royal chefs prepared meals for kings -- from screening ingredients to offering regional delicacies and marking special occasions with food.

“Exhibits include a variety of records such as those from ‘Uigwe’ -- a book of rites compiling royal ceremonies and protocols,” a National Palace Museum of Korea official said.

“‘The Book on Food’ by the palace physician and the ‘Book of Recipes’ by the palace matron are some excellent examples offering clarity on how the royal kitchen operated,” the official added, noting meals served to Kings Gojong and Sunjong -- the last two Joseon kings -- have been reproduced for the exhibition.

The second part of the exhibition centers on a feast at Gyeongbokgung, the main Joseon palace, held in 1892 to celebrate King Gojong’s 41st birthday and his 30th anniversary on the throne.

The foods present and what they represented are illustrated in “Uigwe for a Royal Court Banquet in the Imjin Year (1892)” and “List of Dishes,” a separate record that tracked the event, according to the museum.

In the interactive zone, visitors can try matching their taste to that of the kings.

On the sidelines of the special exhibition, the museum opened a wholly remodeled second floor of the two-story museum now featuring two spaces: “Joseon Kings” and “Royal Court Life.”

Over 450 objects are on display in the new galleries, with labels and video clips summarizing the significance of each work.

“The videos allow visitors to experience the four seasons at these complexes from different viewpoints,” a museum official said of the Joseon Kings section, referring to Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung, another nearby Joseon palace.

“Visitors will also get a look at the lives of the princes and princesses and other members of the royal family,” the official said of the Royal Court Life gallery.

Four lectures on royal cuisine will be given through December.