The 2026 Jongmyo Daeje royal procession departed from Gwanghwamun in Seoul on Sunday, heading toward Jongmyo Shrine. Jongmyo Daeje is the nation's highest ritual, held to honor the spirit tablets of the kings, queens, emperors and empresses of the Joseon Dynasty and the Korean Empire. The ceremony was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2001.
Photo by Cho Tae-hyung, May 3, 2026.
