Hwaseong Holds Jeongjo Filial Piety Cultural Festival and Royal Procession... "Robot Parade" Debuts at Historical Site

Hwaseong Special City (Mayor Jung Myung-geun) will hold the "2026 Jeongjo Filial Piety Cultural Festival and King Jeongjo Royal Procession" at Jeongjo Filial Piety Park and Yungneung from October 3-4.

The Jeongjo Filial Piety Cultural Festival is a representative historical and cultural festival of Hwaseong Special City that has been held since 2002 to honor and inherit King Jeongjo's deep filial piety and spirit of love for the people. This year, the festival will be enhanced with diverse programs combining citizen-participatory historical and cultural content with cutting-edge technology.

At the opening ceremony on October 3, the first day of the festival, the Filial Piety Award will be presented to citizens from the local community who have exemplified filial piety. Following that, approximately 400 citizens will participate in the "Hyungnyungwon Funeral Procession Recreation," which reenacts the 1789 funeral procession that moved the tomb of Crown Prince Sado to Yungneung in Hwaseong, regarded as the finest auspicious site in Joseon. The event will be followed by an original musical "The King's Path" celebrating King Jeongjo's spirit of filial piety and a drone light show featuring 1,000 drones that will illuminate the autumn night sky.

On October 4, the second day, the King Jeongjo Royal Procession will take place with approximately 800 citizen participants across three sections: ▲Traditional Section (Hwanggye-dong to Hyungchung Park) ▲Modern Section (Dongtan Central Park to Hyungchung Park) ▲Future Section (Hyungchung Park to Yungneung).

The King Jeongjo Royal Procession is the festival's flagship program, reenacting King Jeongjo's journey to Hwaseong. The Filial Piety Parade Unit, children's royal palanquin procession unit, citizen procession unit, and foreign visitor procession unit will participate, vividly conveying King Jeongjo's filial devotion and spirit of love for the people.

Notably, this year's procession will feature a new addition: a robot parade embodying the identity of Hwaseong Special City as a future advanced city. Through this unique parade where advanced technology robots and traditional royal processions blend together, Hwaseong Special City will showcase differentiated festival content where history and future coexist.

Following this, the royal palanquin procession and ritual at Yungneung will be held. As a ceremony to reflect on the meaning of filial piety that King Jeongjo practiced toward his father Crown Prince Sado, it will be livestreamed from Jeongjo Filial Piety Park, conveying greater historical significance to audiences.

Throughout the festival period, various participatory programs will be offered at Jeongjo Filial Piety Park and the Yungneung area, including demonstrations of Joseon-era martial arts, traditional music performances, traditional costume and craft experiences, filial piety experience programs, and royal tomb exploration programs, providing residents and tourists with abundant attractions and entertainment.

Meanwhile, this festival has strengthened citizen convenience through active participation from local businesses. Hyundai Motor's Namyang Research Institute, as part of cooperative partnership with the local community, will provide festival shuttle buses on both October 3 (Saturday) and 4 (Sunday), and will additionally provide return buses to assist participants in the royal procession on October 4 (Sunday), providing a total of 16 vehicles. This is expected to enable residents and tourists visiting the festival to enjoy the event more conveniently and safely.

Mayor Jung Myung-geun of Hwaseong Special City stated, "The Jeongjo Filial Piety Cultural Festival and King Jeongjo Royal Procession are Korea's representative historical and cultural festivals that inherit King Jeongjo's filial piety and spirit of love for the people as contemporary values. In particular, through new content including the robot parade this year, we plan to showcase a special festival unique to Hwaseong Special City where history, culture, and advanced technology coexist, and we invite the interest and participation of many residents and tourists," he said.