Abstract

Joseon kings made many visits to the tombs of their preceding kings as a means of expressing their filial piety and demonstrating their legitimacy as sovereign, and King Jeongjo was no exception. King Jeongjo paid frequent visits to Hwaseong where his father Crown Prince Sado’s tomb, Hyeollyungwon, is located, in order to foster an atmos-phere that would restore his father’s honor. In 1795, which was the sixtieth birthday of both his parents, he visited Hyeollyungwon with his mother Hye-gyeonggung and held many ceremonies there. After the trip, he ordered the compilation of Wonhaeng eulmyo jeongni uigwe, royal protocols on his visit, presenting detailed accounts of the trip. This paper provides an overview of the king’s trips and his visits to the tombs during the Joseon period and reviews King Jeongjo’s 1795 visit to Hwaseong in detail, as well as the aspects of the preparation before the visit, ceremonies held in Hwaseong, and actions taken after the trip. His visit to Hwaseong was intended to serve various purposes: to foster the milieu for the restoration of his father’s honor, to show the strength of his supporting mili-tary forces by staging military drills there, and to consolidate the loyalty of the common people by granting them a host of benefits.