During the reign of King Sejong (1397-1450, reigned 1418-1450), the court music pieces Chihwapyeong and Chwifunghyung, whose transmission was cut off and was only known through scores, have been revived through artificial intelligence (AI).
To commemorate the “627th birthday of King Sejong,” the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 13th that they will be holding an event called ‘A Day with Sejong’ at Gyeongbokgung Palace and Sejong Cultural Center on the 14th and 15th, where the National Gugak Center will perform the restored Chihwapyeong and Chwifunghyung using AI.
King Sejong spent 16 years of his 32-year reign at Gyeongbokgung Palace, where he engaged in reading and rigorous debates with scholars at Jiphyeonjeon. On the first day of the event on the 14th, a ritual based on the Gillye from Sejong Shilok Oreui referenced ‘Sejong’s Birthday Ritual’ in the area of the previous Jiphyeonjeon within Sujeongjeon. The National Gugak Center will showcase the solemn and elegant court music Haiyeong, the court dance Yeom Inrak, and Bongraeui during this ritual.
Utilizing AI, the National Gugak Center will also debut the restored Chihwapyeong and Chwifunghyung. These court music pieces have only existed in the form of 15th-century jinganbo (a musical notation system developed by King Sejong to accurately represent the length and pitch of sounds). Through the application of the evolution process of Yeom Inrak, AI has recreated Chihwapyeong and Chwifunghyung based on the jinganbo scores, generating flute melodies. Furthermore, melodies for daegeum, haegeum, ajaeng, gayageum, and geomungo were developed based on these melodies.
The event will also include performances of calligraphy showcasing King Sejong’s words to emphasize the excellence of Hangul, a writing system he created, and to reflect on the meaning of “enjoying life while cultivating oneself,” which King Sejong strived for.
There will be performances conveying the contents of King Sejong’s works “Three Character Classic,” “Pharmacopoeia,” and “Songs of Flying Dragons.” The grand finale of the ritual will feature a musical that recounts King Sejong’s life achievements through song. Minister Yoo In-chon of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will attend the event to celebrate King Sejong’s birthday.
Additionally, from 12:30 PM on the same day, there will be an exhibition and experience event called ‘A Day with Sejong’ for pre-registered guests at Gyeongbokgung Palace Yeongchumun, Sujeongjeon, and around the Shibi area. Visitors can receive a badge at the entrance of Yeongchumun and admire the achievements of King Sejong from his birth to his reign. They can experience the atmosphere of the king at a life-size throne, and learn about Sejong’s achievements through videos.
Participants can create a fragrance bag based on the prescription from “Pharmacopoeia” and solve quizzes related to King Sejong. On the 15th, a scholarly conference themed ‘The World Dreamed by Sejong, Speaking Through Books’ will be held at the Sejong Culture Center Art Academy Circle Hall. In the morning, presentations on King Sejong’s Hoonminjeongeum, academia, music, and education will be given, while in the afternoon, the ‘Gapin-ja,’ the finest metal typeface in Korea during the Sejong era, and the ‘Three Character Classics’ reissued to elevate the consciousness of the people will be highlighted.
The National Hangeul Museum will hold the event ‘Today, Let’s Be with King Sejong,’ while the National Institute of the Korean Language will host the ‘2024 Foreigner Dictation Contest’ at the National Folk Museum. The Sejong Institute, consisting of 248 academies from 85 countries worldwide, will hold the ‘2024 Sejong Institute Korean Speaking and Writing Contest’ starting from the 15th.
Minister Yoo In-chon stated, “Through events like this, I hope that people will deeply remember the world of ‘Enjoying life while cultivating oneself’ that Sejong dreamed of and practiced,” and mentioned that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to present the ‘Sejong Cultural Award’ on King Sejong’s birthday starting from next year.