Spring of Jongmyo
2015 2016 2017 2021
Jongmyo Shrine has fewer flower trees than the royal palaces because it is a space for ancestral rites, but there are hidden places where you can feel the blooming spring. By the time young grass starts to sprout from thepaving stones on the Woldae, the Jongmyo forest announces the advent of spring with soft green light and the smell of soil. When I started taking pictures in 2015, I took pictures of flowers blooming on a plum tree in front of Hyangdaecheong Hall. Six years later, I took another similar composition and realized that the plum tree had grown magnificently with thick stems and abundant flowers. If the tree has grown that much while the season has changed twenty-four times, how much have I and my photos grown so far, I wonder.
In springtime, my favorite place in Jongmyo is outside the east gate of Yeongnyeongjeon Hall. When the spring breeze blew over the foundation stones of the former Jeonsacheong office's remain and the Panwi of Yeongnyeongjeon Hall, I got excited since it felt like I finally had found THE spring of Jongmyo Shrine. The spring scenery over the fence from Oedaemun Gate to Seosunra-gil street is also extraordinary. Cherry blossoms and trees extending their heads over the wall give people the spring warmth to their hearts.
060. Spring scenery of Yeonji Pond | 2015 
062. Plum tree in front of Hyangdaecheong Hall, the Great Incense Hall | 2021 
069. Jeongjeon Hall viewed from the southeast | 2015 
073. The scenery of Yeongnyeongjeon seen from under the weeping cherry tree | 2021 
075. Spring scenery of the area around the eastern wall of Yeongnyeongjeon Hall | 2021