Concert / Performance

National Gugak Center

Jongmyo Jeryeak

The Court Music Orchestra and Dance Theatre of the National Gugak Center in Seoul bring a centuries-old traditional Korean ancestral ceremony to Berlin. Jongmyo Jeryeak is a multi-genre art work that combines instrumental music, singing, dancing and costumes. This visiting performance takes place to mark the 50th anniversary of the Korean-German Cultural Agreement.

A woman in ritual garb holds up a stick and bells.

Jongmyo Jeryeak performance in National Gugak Center, Korea

© National Gugak Center

For some six centuries, the royal families of the Joseon dynasty held Jongmyo Jerye ceremonies to worship past kings, to inspire contemplation of and respect for the nation’s founding principles and to create harmony. Jongmyo Jeryeak rites were performed in magnificent and elegant ceremonies at the Confucian shrine dedicated to past kings, the Jongmyo, which is considered a milestone in the development of traditional Korean architecture.
Jongmyo Jeryeak, which represents the essence of palace culture during the Joseon Kingdom, has been preserved for posterity by the National Gugak Center (NGC) in Seoul. As Korea’s representative institution for traditional art forms, the NGC maintains the tradition of the Jangakwon, the academy of court music from the Joseon era.
Jongmyo Jeryeak was added to UNESCO’s list of Masterpieces of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2001.

The Jongmyo Jeryeak performances in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and Munich that are part of this year’s tour by the National Gugak Center – with some 80 performers – are held to mark the 50th anniversary of the Korean-German Cultural Agreement.

Concert Programme

Jongmyo Jeryeak

Traditional Korean ancestral ceremony from the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910)
with music, song, dance and costumes

Guest performance by the National Gugak Center (Seoul/Korea)

Cast

National Gugak Center
Court Music Orchestra of NGC
Sang-won LEE director
Dance Theatre of NGC
Jeong-suk YU director

A group of Asian dancers in red robes hold up colourful sticks decorated with tassels.

Jongmyo Jeryeak

© National Gugak Center Korea

Presented by Berliner Festspiele / Musikfest Berlin in collaboration with the National Gugak Center Seoul, the Korean Cultural Center and the Cultural Department of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea.

The tour by the National Gugak Center is a joint initiative by the National Gugak Center, the Korean Cultural Center and the Cultural Department of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Berliner Festspiele / Musikfest Berlin, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Kölner Philharmonie / KölnMusik GmbH and Bayerische Rundfunk’s musica viva to mark the 50th anniversary of the Korean-German Cultural Agreement.