A guide dressed as the feline character Myomyo on Oct. 16 gives an explanation on Myeongneung, the twin tombs of Joseon Dynasty King Sukjong and his second wife, Queen Inhyeon, on the Seooreung Night Tour at the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do Province.

By Kim Hyelin

Photos = Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation

"I am the cat Myomyo, who freely wanders between this life and the afterlife. This is the first time in 300 years that someone has listened to me. I'm glad to meet you!"

An actor dressed as this feline character on Oct. 16 at 7:30 p.m. said this to a tour group in the dark at the entrance of the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty.

The 30 visitors each wore headphones and held lanterns while standing behind the character, who held a sign behind the tomb reading "The feet of the living enter along the path of the deity's garden."

Seooreung Night Tour uses the motif Geumson, a pet cat beloved by Joseon King Sukjong, who reigned from 1674 to 1720. The actor guides the tour group, who see and hear the nation's history through traditional dances, a shadow play and light show. 

Located in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do Province, Seooreung, whose name means "five tombs in the west," includes the resting places of King Sukjong and his three wives -- Queens Ingyeong, Inhyeon and Inwon -- and his huibin (consort) Jang Ok-jeong, who was eventually deposed as queen. 

Visitors on the Seooreung Night Tour on Oct. 16 watch a radio drama on the background screen of Myeongneung, the twin graves of King Sukjong and Queen Inhyeon, at the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do Province. 

The first stop on the tour was Myeongneung, where the bodies of King Sukjong and Queen Inhyeon were interred. "Queen Inhyeon in 1701 was laid to rest here first and King Sukjong was buried next to her in 1720," Myomyo said.

The shrine also contained the main elements and features of a royal tomb like a hongsalmun, a red spiked gate installed around tombs to ward off evil spirits, and a building used in ancestral rites and shaped like the Chinese character for jeong (丁), referring to a wooden tool for spreading grain. 

A radio drama on the eventful life of Queen Inhyeon was shown from her entry to the palace to her death at age 34, using the graves as the background. Exclamations flowed from the mouths of spectators who sat on the side of a building.

Visitors later passed Myeongneung and walked along the dark forest before arriving at Daebinmyo, the grave of consort Jang. King Sukjong loved her and made her his queen but later banished her after she lost his favor. 

This traditional dance performance on Oct. 16 is held at Daebinmyo, the grave of King Sukjong's royal consort Jang Ok-jeong, at the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do Province.

"Why did you come to the most narrow and unappealing part of Seooreung?" Jang's sorrowful voice said this in flowing through the visitors' headphones. A traditional dance performance soon followed in front of the grave depicting her turbulent life.

Afterwards, the tour moved to Gyeongneung, which housed the graves of Deokjong (1438-57), who posthumously received the title of king, and his wife, Queen Sohye. After listening to the story of Deokjong and Jangjo (Crown Prince Sado) through a shadow play, participants watched a video of portraits of monarchs including King Sejong the Great making various facial expressions.

An actor dressed as King Sukjong greeted visitors at Inneung, the grave of the king's wife Queen Ingyeong. The king and Myomyo, who were reunited for the first time in three centuries, shared a brief reunion and farewell scene.

Participants took photos of the actors and the tomb forest scenery, which was beautifully adorned with regular and laser lights.

Actors portraying Myomyo (right) and King Sukjong on Oct. 16 hold dialogue in front of Inneung, the grave of Queen Ingyeong, at the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do Province.

It was past 9 p.m. by the time the group returned to the entrance of the tomb complex. "Now it's time for me to go back to the afterlife," Myomyo said in bidding farewell.

"It was a lot more fun because we didn't just follow the guide but asked questions and experienced various audio-visual content," said Incheon resident Jung Woo-jin, who went on the tour with two friends. "It was also useful since I gained much historical knowledge."

Through Oct. 22 and offered three times daily, Seooreung Night Tour coincides with this year's Joseon Royal Tombs Festival, which began a day earlier at nine tombs including Yeongneung, where King Sejong was buried, Hongyureung, Donggureung, Seonjeongneung, Taegangneung and Heoninneung.

kimhyelin211@korea.kr