The opening ceremony of the 2022 Royal Culture Festival is held on May 10 at Gyeongbokgung Palace's Heungnyemun Gate Compound in Seoul's Jongno-gu District. (Yonhap News)

By Kim Hyelin and Lee Jihae

The Royal Culture Festival, the nation's largest cultural heritage event, kicked off on May 10 at Seoul's five main palaces and will end on May 22.

The Cultural Heritage Administration and Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation on the evening of May 10 held the festival's opening ceremony at the square in front of Gyeongbokgung Palace's Heungnyemun Gate. The ceremony had been held online over the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this year's was hosted at the square amid the lifting of most social distancing restrictions.

The event has attracted 3.8 million visitors over the past seven years as the nation's largest cultural heritage festival, being held at the capital's five main palaces of Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung, Changgyeonggung and Gyeonghuigung, Jongmyo Shrine and Sajikdan Altar. The biannual gala is held twice a year in spring (May) and autumn (October).

This year's festival is being held mainly offline and features 49 programs including those online. 

"Sohyeon," this year's new royal palace musical, will run from May 20-22. Through a combination of gugak (traditional music) elements, the works narrates the story of Crown Prince Sohyeon (1612-45), who dreamed of a new Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910).

"Palaces on Minecraft," an online festival of royal culture for children, shows images of both the interior and exterior of Deoksugung's Seokjojeon Palace and Dondeokjeon, which is undergoing restoration, using Minecraft. English-language brochures will be made for the Royal Culture Festival's "home delivery service" to attract participants by delivering craft kits to attendees.

Videos featuring the festival are available on Gungneung TV on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/%EA%B6%81%EB%8A%A5TV.

Visitors can take part in programs on the opening of Gyeongbokgung's back garden when making reservations on the mobile apps Naver, KakaoTalk and Toss to visit the newly opened Cheong Wa Dae compound. Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Deoksugung will be open at all times, and entrance to Gyeongbokgung is free during the festival period.

Daily evening tours of Deoksugung and Changgyeonggung are also available over the same time frame until 9 p.m.

Click the festival's official website for more information on the event: chf.or.kr/fest

kimhyelin211@korea.kr