Explore the 1800s Korean Royal Court Ceremony With AR

To increase public interest in South Korea’s cultural heritage, marketing agency Cheil Worldwide worked with the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and woomihope.org to recreate a royal ceremony from 1887 in augmented reality.

Visitors to Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul will be able to experience the Joseon Dynasty’s royal court ceremony originally held on Jan. 13, 1887 by downloading the Heritage Metaverse Coexistence mobile application.

According to Cheil Worldwide, the original ceremony was held “to celebrate the eightieth birthday of the Grand Queen Dowager and to wish for the nation’s peace and prosperity.”

The AR experience features more than 300 characters, ceremonial costumes and objects from the Joseon Dynasty that will appear throughout the palace. Visitors will be able to tap virtual characters to make them move and speak, as well as take pictures with them. A treasure hunt allows people to search for specific objects from the Joseon Dynasty in the palace.

“Collaboration with Cheil Worldwide over the past five years to digitally revive Korea’s cultural heritage has set exemplary precedence on national heritage restoration and its application,” said Youngki Jang, public private partnership deputy director at the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea.

In addition to this AR experience, the Heritage Metaverse Coexistence app includes a metaverse feature allowing people to create an avatar and explore the royal court ceremony event from anywhere in the world.

“We wanted to show a new experience to enrich cultural tours and education on history, and none of this would have been possible without the help and support of our partners Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and woomihope.org,” said Eunjoo Kim, account director at Cheil Worldwide.

This is the third digital project created by Cheil Worldwide, the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and woomihope.org related to the Joseon Dynasty. Previous projects focused on the Donuimun Gate and the Gungisi weapons manufacturing facility, with their related content also being available in the Heritage Metaverse Coexistence app.