Shedding light on neunghaeng, visits to the royal tombs by the Kings of Joseon Dynasty

- Royal Palaces and Tombs Center releases its Research Report on Joseon Dynasty Neunghaeng via its Website -

The Royal Palaces and Tombs Center (Acting Director Song, In-heon) of the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) conducted a research project from August to December of 2023 to study neunghaeng (陵幸) of Joseon Dynasty, and succeeded in mapping out the actual routes of neunghaeng. The report can be downloaded from the websites of the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center.
* Cultural Heritage Administration website http://www.cha.go.kr
* Royal Palaces and Tombs Center website http://royal.cha.go.kr

Neunghaeng (陵幸) refers to the visits made by the kings of Joseon Dynasty to the royal tombs of previous kings and queens who have passed away, to perform ancestral rites or to pay respect. The Royal Palaces and Tombs Center planned and outsourced a research project, which was conducted by a team led by Professor Kang, Jaehoon, Department of Korean History at Korea University. The research investigated the purpose and meaning of Joseon Dynasty neunghaeng, as well as identify how the neunghaeng procession from the royal palace to the royal tombs was organized, which routes it took, and analyzed records of actual neunghaeng during Joseon Dynasty.

The research analyzed the unique characteristics of the Joseon royal tombs that serve as the location for the rites, as well as the changes of the royal tomb rites procedures over time, shedding new light on the significance of neunghaeng. Joseon royal tomb houses T-shaped shrine (Jeongjagak) as the central location for the living to perform various rites on site; it is a spacious and grand section of the royal tomb, compatible with the spaces dedicated to the deceased. In the later years of the Joseon Dynasty, Gisinje, ancestral rites performed on the deathdays of the deceased kings and queens, were performed at the royal tombs, and other ceremonial procedures presided by the king had also been reorganized. Neunghaeng became an even more significant state ceremony, confirming the legitimacy of the king.

The research also explains how the composition and size of neunghaeng visits changed at different periods. The smallest entourage for ceremonial visits of a king, named Soganobu, accompanied the king at neunghaeng. The size of neunghaeng in the early period of Joseon Dynasty was around 4,500 people, including the king’s guards, ceremonial equipage, and the accompanying statesmen, adjusted with flexibility depending on the situation. In the later years of Joseon Dynasty, the national military system changed from farmers being drafted as regular soldiers to career soldiers. As such, the size of mobilized soldiers for neunghaeng also has been reduced. During the late Joseon Dynasty, the size of neunghaeng ranged from approximately 2,900 to 4,000 people, sometimes going up to 6,400.

The composition of musical performers and their changes over time have also been analyzed for the first time through this research project. In the earlier period of Joseon Dynasty, the musical band came before the king’s palanquin. But in the later period, the band that belonged to Seonjeongwancheong, the office of the royal guards closest to the king, was placed in front of and at the rear end of the king’s palanquin. The two bands followed the basic composition of samhyeon yukgak, or the traditional Korean music using 6 instrumental pieces, and percussion instruments.

The research team conducted a comprehensive analysis of all neunghaeng recorded in chronological records of the Dynasty, such as Annals of Joseon Dynasty and the Diaries of the Royal Secretariat, to list each neunghaeng case and its special features in terms of different period, kings and by each royal tombs. In a span of 535 years, from 1392, when Joseon Dynasty was founded, to 1926, the year when Emperor Sunjong, the last emperor of Korean Empire, passed away, a total of 940 neunghaeng took place. On average, 1.76 visits were made in a year. From King Taejo to King Seongjong (1392-1494) neunghaeng was performed at least once a year. From King Yeonsangun to King Hyeonjong (1494-1674), the number of neunghaeng declined dramatically. It was viewed as causing too much burden on the livelihood of the people, especially after having fought a long war. It was around the reign of King Sukjong that neunghaeng became active again. More tombs were added to East Nine Royal Tombs and West Five Royal Tombs, changing the composition of the royal tomb and the neunghaeng process also evolved as the royal tombs changed. This research is a first of its kind in analyzing how neunghaeng changed along with the changes made to the royal tombs.

Based on all the findings, and with the assistance of a GIS program using the road information of Joseon Dynasty, neunghaeng routes from the royal palaces to the royal tombs and back have been visualized on today’s map. This data can be directly used to develop future contents such as recreating the neunghaeng procession and other contents using the royal palaces and tombs.

Royal Palaces and Tombs Center willutilize the findings of this research when developing new contents for travel programs around Joseon royal tombs route, as well as updating history museums within the Joseon royal tombs. In 2024, a follow-up study will be conducted on neunghaeng, to further present more detailed neunghaeng routes, as well as identify detailed stories surrounding neunghaeng. For example, it is known that the king would order various activities to be performed during neunghaeng to comfort and console the people. Such details should be further studied to present a fuller description of visiting routes and ceremonial activities performed along the way at different tombs for kings, queens and prince and princesses. These findings will add a richer narrative to neunghaeng of Joseon Dynasty.