Royal drawings to be handed out during Gyeongbokgung event on Tuesday-Thursday
Korea’s Joseon-era (1392-1910) palaces, tombs and shrine will be open to the public for free from Saturday to Thursday.
Free admission applies to the four palaces -- Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung -- and Jongmyo shrine, all in Seoul, as well as the Joseon royal tombs spread across 18 different sites in the capital and Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces.
Drawings that celebrate the New Year will be given to those visiting Gyeongbokgung during a royal guard ceremony held at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. from Tuesday to Thursday.
The drawings, called “sehwa,” were drawn by court painters and gifted by Joseon kings to his officials to mark the New Year, according to the Korea Heritage Service.
The agency has prepared a total of 6,000 drawings depicting a banner-bearing royal guard standing against the Gyeongbokgung backdrop with a snake highlighted in the banner to mark the Year of the Snake.
