Follow in the footsteps of King Sejong the Great

By Min Yea-Ji and Hahm Hee-eun 
Photos = Korea.net DB

A day tour to commemorate the 600th anniversary of King Sejong the Great’s enthronement will be held for non-Koreans on Oct. 28. This year, the tour includes a musical performance and visits to historic sites related to King Sejong the Great.

King Sejong the Great (1397-1450, r. 1418-1450) was the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty, who is known for many achievements in various fields. From the Hangeul writing system to cheugugi, a traditional rain gauge, King Sejong the Great thought deeply about how to enhance the daily lives of the people.

Around 150 tourists, including social media reporters and individual travelers from China, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan, will participate in the tour organized by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO). Participants will first visit the Royal Tomb of King Sejong the Great and the King’s forest trail in Yeoju City, Gyeonggi-do Province. The Royal Tomb of King Sejong the Great, also known as Yeongneung is where King Sejong the Great and his wife Queen Soheon are buried together. Yeongneung was registered as a UNESCO world heritage site in 2009, and its historic value is thus acknowledged worldwide.

After a visit to the National Hangeul Museum in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, the group will watch a musical performance, 1446, which introduces the life of King Sejong the Great. The title, 1446, derives from the year that King Sejong promulgated Hangeul, so ordinary people would be able to read and write.

Seol Kyung-hee, the director of KTO’s Theme Tourism Product Development Team, said, “As the number of non-Koreans learning Korean is increasing along with the Korean Wave, it is necessary to create tourist content on the theme of Hangeul and King Sejong the Great. Through this one-day-tour, we would like to collect opinions of our participants and assess the potential of commercializing this content.”