Jongmyo Shrine

A UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Confucian shrine where the spirit tablets of Joseon's kings and queens are enshrined. Its Jeongjeon hall — a long, austere colonnade held to be one of Asia's longest wooden structures — sits on a vast stone terrace in near-silence. Each May the royal Jongmyo Jerye rite, with its own UNESCO-listed ritual music, is performed by royal descendants in full costume.