Jongmyo autumn royal ancestral rite — 7 November, free, no booking

The Jongmyo royal ancestral rite is best known as the Jongmyo Daeje held on the first Sunday of May, but it is performed once more in autumn. In a notice on 21 October the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center announced that the 2026 Jongmyo Chuhyang Daeje will be held on Saturday 7 November. The rite runs at Yeongnyeongjeon Hall in the morning and at Jeongjeon, the main hall, in the afternoon, and visitors can watch without booking. It also falls in Jongmyo's free-admission period, so there is no entry charge. If you missed the spring rite, this is the chance to see the Jongmyo rite and its ritual music — inscribed together by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage — among the autumn leaves.

How does 7 November run?

To see both rites, go in before 10am and start at Yeongnyeongjeon, have lunch, then move to Jeongjeon for 2pm. Jeongjeon reopened in 2025 after almost five years of repairs that began in 2020, so seeing a rite in front of it was not possible for some time. On Saturdays Jongmyo's north gate, Buksinmun, is also open, so you can come and go on the Changgyeonggung Palace side.

How is it different from the spring Jongmyo Daeje?

The main difference is who holds it. The spring Jongmyo Daeje is the Korea Heritage Service's flagship event; the autumn Chuhyang Daeje is performed by an organising committee of the Jeonju Lee Royal Family Association, the descendants of the Joseon royal house, whose own calendar also lists 'Jongmyo Chuhyang Daeje, 7 November'. The notice does not say whether it is staged on the spring rite's scale, with the full dance troupe and side events, so we do not assume it is.

What is the Jongmyo royal ancestral rite?

Jongmyo is the shrine that holds the spirit tablets of the kings and queens of Joseon and the emperors and empresses of the Korean Empire, and the Jongmyo rite is the highest-ranking state ancestral ceremony held there. What makes it distinctive is that the rite itself, its ritual music (Jongmyo jeryeak) and its dance (ilmu) form a single whole. Jongmyo became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, and the rite and its music were proclaimed a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001.

How should I watch the music and the dance?

Jongmyo jeryeak, played by the orchestra throughout the rite, is music created under King Sejong and adapted for the rite under King Sejo. It comes in two suites: Botaepyeong, praising the civil virtues of past kings, and Jeongdaeeop, praising their military achievements. The dance follows suit. During Botaepyeong the dancers perform the civil dance holding a flute and a pheasant-feather wand; during Jeongdaeeop they perform the military dance with wooden swords and spears. Remember that the civil dance accompanies the first offering of wine and the military dance the second and third, and you will always know where you are in the rite.

What is the order of the rite?

1. Chwiwi — the officiants take their places.
2. Yeongsin — the spirits are welcomed.
3. Singwallye and jinchan — the spirits are invited down and the food offerings are presented.
4. Choheollye — the first cup of wine is offered (Botaepyeong music, civil dance).
5. Aheollye and jongheollye — the second and third cups are offered (Jeongdaeeop music, military dance).
6. Eumbongnye and cheolbyeondu — the offerings are shared and the vessels cleared.
7. Mangnyo — the prayer text and silk offering are burned and the rite ends.

An autumn rite at Jongmyo is not new. In 2020 the pandemic pushed the May Jongmyo Daeje to November, and it was performed without an audience. We could not confirm from official sources when Chuhyang Daeje began in its present form.

Before you go

• Check again: times and arrangements are from the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center's notice of 21 October. Look again before you set off.
• Foreign-language tours: none on Saturdays. English, Japanese and Chinese tours run on the other open days of the free period (Jongmyo is closed on Tuesdays).
• Etiquette: this is a real ancestral rite. Keep out of the officiants' path, and avoid flash and loud talk when taking photos.
• Location: 157 Jong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, about five minutes' walk from Jongno 3-ga Station on Lines 1, 3 and 5.

Getting there, and what works without Korean

Take Seoul Subway Line 1, 3 or 5 to Jongno 3-ga Station; Jongmyo's main gate is a few minutes' walk north-east, past the park in front of it. There is nothing to book, so a foreign phone number or card is never a problem, and during the free-admission period you simply walk in. What you will not get on Saturday is any English: the rite has no commentary, and the day's guided tours are in Korean only. If you want the English tour of Jongmyo itself, come on another day in the free period (10:00 or 14:00, not Tuesdays) and return for the rite on Saturday. The rite is a long, slow ceremony — two hours in the morning, two and a half in the afternoon — so pick one hall rather than trying to stand through both, and use the order of the rite above to follow along. The Royal Palaces and Tombs Center's notice for the day is bilingual, so the essentials can be checked in English.