Seokjeon Daeje being performed in front of Sungkyunkwan's Daeseongjeon, March 16, 2016 / Photo by Jon Dunbar

• ●Ancient Confucian ceremony is kept alive at Korea’s oldest university 

• ●It will take place March 5 this year, despite the COVID-19.

At the foot of Bugaksan Mountain on the edge of central Seoul, Korean Confucianists keep a centuries-old tradition alive. On March 5 this year, 64 musicians and 64 dancers will enact a serene, somber and graceful performance for the Seokjeon Daeje (literally “alcohol serving ceremony”). Their numbers are determined by palgwe (the eight cosmological trigrams, four of which appear in the flag of the Republic of Korea). This large-scale rite is performed to honor Confucius and the greatest promoters of his philosophy.

The venue for this spectacle is Daeseongjeon (Hall of Great Achievements) at Sungkyunkwan, one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Asia that opened on this spot in 1398. The buildings of this compound bear the same reddish-brown columns, ceramic roof tiles and elaborate dancheong-patterned eaves of Seoul’s nearby royal palaces.

The 64 dancers turn toward the four cardinal directions in unison and perform complex, calculated gestures while wearing the costumes and holding the accouterments of ancient scholars and warriors. A stone path runs conveniently through the middle of the yard, but no one dares step on it. In fact, ushers are even dispatched during special events to shoo away anyone so disrespectful as to place a foot upon it. This is the “spirit path” – reserved only for Confucius and the other deceased guests of honor. Meanwhile, the 64 musicians ring stone and metal chimes as well as play various designated percussion, string and woodwind instruments, all while officiants present the traditional offerings of food and liquor in the name of Confucius, four Confucian sages, 10 disciples and 24 men of virtue.

"The ritual has been performed without interruption ever since Sungkyunkwan came into existence, which as far as I know is unique for this kind of Confucian ritual," said Boudewijn Walraven, a visiting professor at SKKU's Academy of East Asian Studies. "Although Confucius has been venerated in China and Japan as well, the tradition has not been as continuous as in Korea."

U.S. Embassy charge d'affaires Marc Knapper takes part in the Seokjeon Daeje, burning Hanji (mulberry-based paper) containing the names of departed Confucianists, March 1, 2017 / Photo by Jon Dunbar

In centuries past, Sungkyunkwan trained the elite, who were admitted only after passing the first of three rounds of civil service examinations – exams based on the teachings of Confucius – and graduated only after passing the second round. In the northern half of the campus, a lecture hall, Myeongnyundang, forms a quad along with two long dormitory halls, Korea’s oldest library and a building with physical education equipment. So revered is Myeongnyundang that it appears on the Korean 1,000 won bill – just over the right shoulder of Yi Hwang, the Neo-Confucian philosopher who studied at Sungkyunkwan and was named its head instructor in 1552.

Sungkyunkwan's lecture hall Myeongnyundang framed by centuries-old ginkgo trees, November 13, 2014 / Photo by Jon Dunbar

Two massive ginkgo trees dominate the yard, but you do not need to worry about getting the stench of smashed ginko fruit on your shoes during a visit.  At Sungkyunkwan, when it came to students and trees, only males were accepted on campus. Both of these giant trees are incapable of producing fruit. The 2010 K-drama “Sungkyunkwan Scandal” tells the fictitious story of a female student during the Joseon Dynasty who enters by pretending to be male.

Although the old wooden dormitories were still in use until as recently as the 1990s, the modern Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) has long been co-educational and both male and female students now walk past these traditional buildings just beyond the main gate. Twice a year, the solemn sounds of a-ak, traditional Korean court music, surround them during the biannual Seokjeon Daeje ceremony as they make their way uphill to the modern campus.

The old Sungkyunkwan campus is a wonderful, yet underrated, tourist destination, and visitors are welcomed for free all year, but it’s also so much more: An active Confucian temple, Munmyo, still exists in this part of the complex, and the Seokjeon Daeje isn’t a mere reenactment; it is the real deal.

In addition to the biannual Seokjeon Daeje, various other programs are carried out here to bring young and old students into an educational environment laid out according to the teachings of Confucius. During the modern university’s graduation ceremony, the president of SKKU leads a delegation down to Daeseongjeon to provide a report on the school’s latest graduating class directly to the Confucian spirits.

Graduation ceremony at Sungkyunkwan's Munmyo, August 25, 2014 / Photo by Jon Dunbar

Amazingly, the oldest educational institute still in existence is in North Korea, just across the border in the city of Gaeseong, the capital of the 918-1392 Goryeo Dynasty. The Sungkyunkwan there was established in 992 and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013. That site is now a museum dedicated to Goryeo. Nearby is North Korea’s own Koryo Songgyungwan University, a modern institution established in the 1990s with funding help from South Korea’s SKKU.

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