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Old palace banquet performance recreated in Seoul
One of the reasons why it is better to live in modern times is because people can enjoy things that were once reserved only for royal families. The National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts presents “Hoeryeyeon,” the biggest royal banquet of Korea's past from May 21 to 24.
Hoeryeyeon is a royal opening/closing ceremony held in royal palaces during the first month of the year and at winter solstice. Some hundreds of musicians and dancers were once mobilized to commemorate the event.
This month's modern hoeryeon will for the first time recreate a particular ceremony that took place in January 1433, during the 15th year of the reign of King Sejong (1397-1450) of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). King Sejong is the most revered monarch in Korean history, most famous for his creation of the Korean alphabet, called Hangeul, but also for developing Korea's native music, called “hyang-ak” setting it apart from that of China.
This year's banquet (in name only – it will be a feast for the eyes and ears, but no food will be served) is called “Sound of Heaven, Music of King Sejong.” It will be held at Ye-ak dang Hall, and is to be re-made into a national brand according to the ambitious plan of the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts. Having gone through a pilot program last year, the coming performance will feature eight new instruments, a kind of “mumu” dance restored for the first time ever. Other court dances of “il-mu” and “jeongjae” are also carefully restored based on the old records, the "Akhakgwebeom" (musical encyclopedia) and "Sejongsillok" (annals of King Sejong).
“The project aims to restore the palace culture of the Joseon dynasty to bring back the high culture of those times and re-develop it as one of Korea's unique national brands,” Park Il-hoon, the head of the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts said.
Hoeryeyeon in the past were held on a grand scale, beginning with the nine-fold offering of liquor to the king. The original banquet lasted for five to six hours with the performance of over 500 musicians. The modern adaptation of Hoeryeyeon will go on for 70 minutes, with some 150 performers, but promises to be more brilliant in color with the content condensed.
The throne of King Sejong will be in the audience seating area, to give a full taste of the king's point of view. At the end of the performance there will be an additional dialogue between actors who play the loyal subjects of King Sejong – namely the then-palace musician Park Yeon and royal minister Maeng Sa-seong and so on -- who will discuss their thoughts on Korean music. The final musical performance will follow after that.
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