Yeongsanjae Ritual

Yeongsanjae re-enacts the Buddha's sermon on Vulture Peak, and it is performed as a memorial rite for the dead - traditionally on the forty-ninth day, and annually at Bongwonsa in Seoul, seat of the Taego order, on the anniversary of the Korean War outbreak in early June. It runs most of a day and is a complete performance form rather than a service: a great gwaebul, a hanging painting many metres high, is carried out and raised in the courtyard; monks perform beompae chant; and there are three ritual dances - nabichum with butterfly-shaped sleeves, barachum with cymbals, and beopgochum on the great drum - accompanied by the samhyeon yukgak ensemble. Offerings of food, incense, flowers and tea are made in sequence. UNESCO inscribed it in 2009. It is free, open to onlookers, and it is a religious rite, so quiet and modest dress are expected.

What you actually see

• The raised gwaebul - the great hanging painting in the courtyard.
• The three dances - butterfly, cymbal and drum.
• Beompae chant - the ritual singing that frames the whole day.
• The sequence of offerings - incense, flowers, food, tea.

When to go

Early June at Bongwonsa for the annual performance. Arrive in the morning - the raising of the painting and the dances come at set points in a long sequence.

Honest expectations

It lasts most of a day and is slow, with long chanted passages and no English explanation. It is a memorial rite, not a show - photography of monks mid-ritual is unwelcome and the front of the courtyard belongs to worshippers.

Nearby

Bongwonsa sits below Ansan; Sinchon and Yonsei are downhill.