Immersive Video Room

In the Joseon Dynasty, there was a law known as the “Sagwejang System,” wherein the king would honor senior, first-ranking ministers over 70 years old who played a pivotal role in state management by presenting them with an armchair and a staff. Receiving these items was the highest honor for scholar-officials during the Joseon Dynasty.

Gyeonggi Province's prominent figure and scholar-official, Lee Gyeong-seok, was a renowned prime minister who significantly contributed to resolving the national crisis during the Qing Invasion of Joseon. When he requested King Hyunjong to step down from his position when he was over the age of 70, the King declined his request and instead presented him with a chair and several staffs. This process is vividly illustrated in the Yeonhoedocheop (Paintings of the Conferment Banquet).

The folding chair could be unfolded when needed, featuring a seat made of cords twisted into an “X” shape. Of the five staffs, one had a pigeon carving at the top and a small shovel at its base.

In addition to its practical utility as a farming tool, this staff held special significance as a gift given to a high-status, older courtier, symbolizing honor.

Paintings of the Conferment Banquet depict the ceremony of receiving the chair and staffs in three paintings, and are accompanied by congratulatory texts written by great scholars of the time and heartfelt poems by Yi Gyeong-seok himself.

The three paintings include Jiyeonggwejangdo, portraying the procession carrying the royal edict, staffs and chair entering Yi Kyeong-seok's house; Seondokgyoseodo, illustrating the reading of the royal edict and the handing over of the staffs and chair; and Naeoeseonondo, depicting the banquet held after the ceremony.

In the immersive video room, viewers can enjoy a reenactment of Lee Gyeong-seok receiving the chair and staffs under the “Sagwejang System,” based on the contents of the Paintings of the Conferment Banquet.

We cordially invite you to experience the grand feast of the most illustrious Gyeonggi literati of the Joseon Dynasty.