[IIJ= Gyeongsanbuk-do, Reporter Euibong Yeo, Boseul Lee] The placenta enshrinement of King Sejong’s Princes re-enacted at Gyeongbokgung Palace at 2 p.m. on Saturday of 14th hosted by Seongju-gun Festival Promotion Committee. This event is the parade, as a signal of the beginning of the Seongju Life Culture Festival, to re-enact placenta enshrinement ceremony that thought of the Joseon Dynasty’s life respect.

▲Re-enactment of Placenta Enshrinement at Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul, KoreaⓒIIJ

Placenta enshrinement ceremony is that his placenta were cleaned 100 times when a prince was born in Joseon Dynasty, then it was put in placenta jar, laid it in state and enshrined. This placenta enshrinement event, Gyeongbokgung Palace Expedition, consists of the cleaning placenta ceremony at Gyotaejeon and placenta enshrinement site decision and declaration, and Ahntaesa march, and also re-enacts the marching procedure 500 years ago to lay King Sejong’s placenta of the princes in state in the most propitious area, Seongju, which was determined as the placenta enshrinement site.

After the cleaning placenta and expedition ceremony at Gyeongbokgung Palace, Placenta Enshrinement Parade, from Gyeongbokgung Palace to Gwanghwasmun, is the event that 500 hundreds people participates and it shows the placenta enshrinement of King Sejong’s Princes to arouse the life respect thoughts and induces participation and interests to 2016 Seongju Life Culture Festival. There are additional events such as Sharing Oriental Melon, Clean Seongju Flash Mob, and Photo Exhibition of Eco-friendly and Happy Agriculture, which attract many interests from tourists and Seoul citizens.

The Korean culture of cherishing and caring for newborn babies’ placenta is the only life-respectful culture in the world.

In Joseon Dynasty, our ancestors believed that the placenta of newborn babies gave vital power so they did not discard, but cherished it after the childbirth. In the royal families, they believed the placenta related to the prestige of the country, therefore they created placenta chamber at propitious site through the adequate ceremony and procedure.

Seongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do is the site of the placenta chambers where the Placenta Chamber of King Sejong’s 17 Princes (Wolhyang-myeon, Seongju), King Taejong (Yongam-myeon, Seongju), and King Danjong (Gacheon-myeon, Seongju) are located in. Of all, the Placenta Chamber of King Sejong’s Princes is the largest one in Korea and the original form of it has conserved well.

This event is processed from the ceremony to enshrine in placenta jar after cleaning placenta 100s times and the decision and declaration of the placenta enshrinement site to the departure towards Seongju ceremony after laying placenta in state. Especially, Ahntaesa march is spectacular which 500 hundreds people of social committee, volunteer fire workers, government agents, and members of Finance and Economy Community.

취재: 여의봉, 이보슬 /번역:이경목  yeu3030@naver.com

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