During a break in the girls' basketball action on Saturday (January 30), Brian and I ventured to see a palace and UNESCO site in Seoul that we haven't had a chance to get to. The palace was a smaller royal palace, used primarily from the 1600s to the late 1800s, that contained an interesting greenhouse built in 1909. Most interesting was the UNESCO site called Jongmyo. Built as a shrine that contains the spirit tablets of dozens of Korean kings and queens, the original shrine was constructed in the mid-1300s. The large, long buildings contain rooms that house small wooden blocks, each with the name of a deceased king or queen engraved on the outside surface. Each room is built like a tomb, with splendid curtains, lampstands and various other pieces of furniture. Every year there is a big ceremony conducted to honour the spirits of the deceased royals. Priests bring gifts of food and drink and these are offered to the spirits in detailed and precise ceremonies. Korea is the only Confucian-based Asian country that still conducts this traditional ceremony that has been celebrated for hundreds of years. Hence, the site's UNESCO status.
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