National Palace Museum's new VR exhibition transports guests to the Joseon Dynasty

The National Palace Museum of Korea presents a new exhibition showcasing the intricate details of Joseon Dynasty paintings through AR and VR technology.

A still from the large-scale video of the royal procession led by King Jeongjo on his return to Hanyang, the capital of Joseon [NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM OF KOREA]

Looking at paintings of royal processions from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) can be like playing “Where’s Waldo” — the details are extremely intricate and elusive with so many things happening all at once. Sometimes, different events can even overlap in the same painting.

This is one of the reasons that people tend to have a difficult time comprehending what’s exactly happening in these paintings, despite them initially being made to record historical events, says Yu Jeong-min, an associate professor at the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage. He specializes in digitalizing cultural heritage artifacts.

The “Folding Screen of Royal Procession to the Ancestral Tomb in Hwaseong” is no exception. The folding screen painting with eight partitions depicts each day from the 9th to 16th day of the second lunar intercalary month in 1795.

A still from the metaverse game of Lady Hyegyeonggung’s 60th birthday celebration [NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM OF KOREA]

The year 1795 was meaningful to King Jeongjo (r. 1776-1800), as it marked the 60th birthdays of both his parents, Lady Hyegyeonggung and Crown Prince Sado. He planned a glamorous celebration for his mother, embarking on a ceremonial walk with her to Hwaseong Haenggung Palace in Suwon, Gyeonggi, which was a temporary residence for kings during Joseon.

Vivid illustrations of the eight-day period on the folding screen included Lady Hyegyeonggung’s 60th birthday party, nighttime military drills and archery and fireworks events.

So, it became a task for Prof. Yu and his team at the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage to help people better understand cultural heritage in a visual way with the help of immersive technologies, like augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).

And now at the National Palace Museum of Korea in Jongno District, central Seoul, visitors can try experiencing this digital content in a new exhibition, “Hwaseong Reimagined: A Digital Dive into an 8-Day Royal Procession.”

The exhibition also celebrates the Korea Heritage Service’s (KHS) new name, which went into effect on Friday. The agency was previously called the Cultural Heritage Administration.

Yu Jeong-min, an associate professor at the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage, left, demonstrates an augmented reality game as part of the National Palace Museum of Korea's latest exhibition, “Hwaseong Reimagined: A Digital Dive into an 8-Day Royal Procession,″ in central Seoul on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

“The exhibition is like a time machine that allows visitors to journey into the past and experience it themselves,” Prof. Yu said during a press conference for the exhibition on Tuesday.

Yu and his team spent five years bringing the images to life, starting by diving deeply into the ceremonial performances, architecture and garments through historical research. Out of the eight partitions, five were selected for virtual upgrades.

Visitors can start their time travel journey by entering the metaverse of Lady Hyegyeonggung’s 60th birthday celebration. Held at Hwaseong Haenggung’s Bongsudang, or Hall of Revered Longevity, the banquet attended by over 7,000 people was originally depicted in the third partition of the folding screen.

A still from the metaverse game of Lady Hyegyeonggung’s 60th birthday celebration [SHIN MIN-HEE]

The metaverse provides a fresh experience, as it allows visitors to jump into the actual scene themselves and discover details that couldn't have been seen in the bird’s-eye view perspective of the original painting.

After creating a metaverse character, you can dive into the scene by scanning the duplicate painting laid out on a table with the tablet PC on site. Then you can click on characters from the painting and listen to their stories, or watch court dance performances on the royal palace grounds, like hakchum — or crane dance. These were created through the motion capturing of professional dancers, Prof. Yu said.

King Jeongjo also enjoyed military drills, archery and shooting fireworks at night during his stay at Hwaseong Haenggung. A VR game that depicts the sixth partition of the folding screen places visitors in Deukjungjeong, or the On Target Pavilion, where they can shoot arrows at a target or light fireworks.

A still from the VR game that allows players to shoot arrows at a target with King Jeongjo [NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM OF KOREA]

If you are interested in learning about Joseon's military, you can scan the diorama of Hwaseong Fortress’s Western Command Post with a tablet PC on-site to become one of the soldiers commanded by King Jeongjo in an AR game. This scene was shown in the folding screen’s fifth partition.

The last two partitions show Jeongjo’s return to Hanyang, Joseon’s capital, now known as Seoul. The event is retold on a large screen and through another extended reality (XR) game that combines both AR and VR. The XR game involves the royal procession building a pontoon bridge to connect the Noryangjin and Yongsan areas. This ultimately concludes the eight-piece story of the “Folding Screen of Royal Procession to the Ancestral Tomb in Hwaseong.”

King Jeongjo's attire, reconstructed through high-resolution videos [NATIONAL PALACE MUSEUM OF KOREA]

Before ending the exhibition, four garments that King Jeongjo actually wore — a ritual costume, two types of military uniforms and a helmet and armor set — have been reconstructed through high-resolution videos, each of which spins 360-degrees so that guests can see the items in full.

“Hwaseong Reimagined: A Digital Dive into an 8-Day Royal Procession" continues until June 16. The National Palace Museum of Korea is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. Hours extend to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Admission is free.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]