The purpose of this study is to develop new content using the historical figure, King Jungjo, whose period left rich cultural heritage. In the 18th century, when Joseon was in a transitional period moving into the modern era, King Jungjo helped to bri...
The purpose of this study is to develop new content using the historical figure, King Jungjo, whose period left rich cultural heritage. In the 18th century, when Joseon was in a transitional period moving into the modern era, King Jungjo helped to bring about Renaissance in the country. Therefore Koreans hold special affection for the King and relatively a large amount of content was developed about him. In addition, since the designation of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress as the World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997, studies on Suwon Hwaseong Fortress and King Jungjo have been actively conducted, which has shed the new light on the King as a representative historical figure for Suwon and Hwaseong areas. However, in terms of content development, King Jungjo has been interpreted as a sage or reformist king only and his image is confined to a historical person in specific areas. It is time to adopt a new approach to discuss King Jungjo’s achievement. As well as his historic accomplishments, King Jungjo needs to be reviewed in a wider range beyond Suwon and Hwaseong to be recognized as one of representatives of Korea.
In Suwon and Hwaseong areas, various pieces of cultural heritage related to King Jungjo are located. In Suwon city, there are historical structures like Hwaseong Fortress, Hwaseong rural palace, Man-seock-geo (Man-made lake for agricultural water located in the north of Hwaseong Fortress), and Chuk-man-je (Man-made lake for agricultural water located in the west of Hwaseong Fortress) and various types of content such as the Hwaseong Museum and Hwaseong Cultural Festival. In Hwaseong city, Yungleung (Tomb of King Jungjo), Gunleung (Tomb of Crown Prince Sado, King Jungjo’s father), and royal Buddihist temple of Yongjoosa are situated and a cultural festival with the theme of King Jungjo’s filial duty is held. Besides, King Junjo’s traces can be found in other areas; Gwunrisa (Royal shrine that the King established) in Osan, Changdeokgung (Palace where the King resided during his reign) in Seoul, and Neunghaengkil (Road that the King took to go to the royal tombs) in Anyang. Therefore, all those cities can be developed into a Jungjo Cultural Belt by clustering neighboring areas.
Furthermore, restoration of Hwaseong haengchagil (Journey of King Jungjo to Hwaseong) is required according to the establishment of the Jungjo Cultural Belt. The restoration would be the foundation to reenact the King’s journey to Hwaseong. Because Hwaseong haengchagil is recorded in 『Wonhaeng eulmyo jeongni uigwe (Record of Jungjo's visit to his father's tomb in the year Eulmyo)』 in detail, the road and the journey are possibly recovered as they were in the past. Now some part of Hwaseong haengchagil is recaptured during the Hwaseong Cultural Festival. However, if the whole road and the journey are revived based on thorough historical research, they will have a high chance to be recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO as well as Salleung jerye (Memorial ritual) held in Yungleung and Gunleung and 24 sets of martial arts described in Muye dobo tongji (Comprehensive illustrated manual of martial arts).
The time demands development of historical and cultural content that represents Korea. At this juncture, the value of cultural heritage of King Jungjo’s period is remarkable as it depicts the latter part of the Joseon Dynasty. The Jungjo Cultural Belt should be established by clustering areas with the cultural heritage in order to develop various content and programs. Also, symbolic Korean historical and cultural festivals need to be created by restoring intangible heritage. The historical figure, King Jungjo, is familiar to and loved by ordinary Korean people and cultural heritage of his period implicates universal value showing the country’s history and traditional culture. As a result, new content on King Jungjo as a model historical figure of Korea will be used as a representative Korean brand.