The Presidential Council on National Branding on Monday reenacted a royal wedding of Joseon based on the royal books retrieved from France last year. Titled “Joseon Reawakens,” the event presented royal court costumes, traditional dance performance, music and food at National Museum of Korea in central Seoul. More than 200 guests including Choe Kwang-shik, minister of culture, sports and tourism, and Kim Young-na, director of National Museum of Korea attended the event, officials said.

“In honor of the return of the Uigwe documents from France last year, we have prepared ‘Joseon Reawakens’ ― an reenactment of some of the Uigwe contents,” said Lee Bae-yong, chairwoman of Presidential Council on National Branding.

“We hope this event offers a chance to introduce the highest form of Korean traditional culture and arts to the world,” she said.

Last year, France returned the 297 volumes of ancient books through a renewable lease. The books were looted from Korea in 1866 during the French troops’ invasion of Ganghwa Island off the west coast of the country. The texts describe the procedures and formalities used to conduct weddings, funerals, banquets and other royal events.

Lavish royal costumes, accessories and other materials were reproduced by the Korean Royal Costume Research Institute after months of research, officials said.

Famous TV celebrities Park Sang-won and Chae Si-ra played the role of Joseon king and queen during the reenactment. Models including the two depicted the royal wedding procession including chaekbi, a procedure where the future queen was crowned at the palace; chinyeong, the procedure of the king formally receiving his queen; and dongrae, the procedure of the king taking his new queen to the royal palace.

By Cho Chung-un
(christory@heraldcorp.com)