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| A royal parade of King Jeongjo of Joseon will be re-enacted from Seoul to Suwon and Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on Oct. 5 and 6. / Korea Times file |
By Kang Seung-woo
The local governments of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province will recreate the royal parade for King Jeongjo (r. 1776-1800) next month, from central Seoul to a royal tomb outside the city where his parents are buried, Seoul Metropolitan Government announced Monday.
The 59.2-kilometer-long royal procession, scheduled for Oct. 5 and 6, will feature 5,043 participants and 552 horses to re-enact the trip taken by the 22nd monarch of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) to hold a memorial ceremony at his father's tomb in 1795, when the eight-day trip was aimed at marking the 20th anniversary of his reign and the 60th birthday of his mother.
The event was first hosted in 1996 by Suwon with an 8-kilometer-long parade. Seoul joined in 2016, followed by Hwaseong the following year.
The two-day procession is divided into two courses ― the Seoul route on Oct. 5 and the king's visit to Suwon and Hwaseong on Oct. 6.
On the first day, the initial 19.3-kilometer-long Seoul parade, featuring 1,680 participants and 140 horses, will run from Changdeok Palace to Nodeul Island and Siheung Haenggung (the king's temporary palace).
The second day will include a stop at Haenggung, the Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon before reaching Yungneung, the tomb of King Jeongjo's parents located in Hwaseong. Hwaseong Fortress is a UNESCO-designated cultural heritage site.
According to the city government, the highlight of the royal parade will be the crossing of a 300-meter-long pontoon bridge called Baedari ("boat bridge") that connects the neighborhood of Ichon with Nodeul Island on the Han River. Three local government heads, including Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, will inspect the bridge before the re-enactment of the king's crossing.
