Enjoy traditional tea King Yeongjo used to love with Gyeongbokgung Saeng Gwa Bang event

▲ This photo, shows the Saeng Gwa Bang event opened in Gyeongbokgung last year October. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Apr. 11 (Yonhap) --"Gyeongbokgung Saeng Gwa Bang," an experience event where one can taste the royal herbal tea and "byeong-gwa (rice cakes and biscuits) from the Joseon Dynasty at the Gyeongbokgung Palace, will resume.

The Cultural Heritage Administration Royal Palaces and Tombs Center announced on the 11th that, along with the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, the Gyeongbokgung Saeng Gwa Bang event will be held from the 20th of April to the 25th of June at the Sojubang, Saeng Gwa Bang of the Gyeongbokgung palace.

This year's representative menu is a rice cake that can also be called a nourishing food, "Guseonwangdogo" and a medicinal tea, "Ganggye Daum."

Guseonwangdogo is a rice cake made with 9 herbal ingredients without any negative side effects including SanYak (Dioscoreae Rhizoma) and Yulmu (Job's tears). Dongui Bogam also introduced it as a food that is good for digestion and is also recommended to those who don't have any appetite. 

Ganggye Daum is a tea made with ginger, cinnamon, tangerine peel and jujube. A king known to have lived for long, King Yeoungjo of the Joseon Dynasty is known to have enjoyed this drink for his health, and is conveyed that he continued to drink it till his death. 

It will also have the walnut Jeonggwa, apple Jeonggwa, yakgwa and different types of tea including SamGulDa (ginseng, tangerine peels, jujube), GamGugDa (Chrysanthemum, Goji berries), Damgakda (Ginseng, honey), Omija (magnolia berry tea), Jehocha (Ginseng, tangerine peel, jujube) and many more that are recorded in the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty and the Dongui Bogam.

As for the price, Byeong-gwa will cost around 1000won-3000won while a tea will cost around 4000won-5000won.

Except for Tuesdays when Gyeongbokgung closes, the event will be held at 10 a.m. and 11:40 a.m., 1:50 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. for 1 hour and 10 minutes each.

It can be reservated at Interpark Ticket from 2 p.m. on the 13th. More details can be found at the Cultural Heritage Administration Royal Palaces and Tombs center and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation website.

An official from the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation said, "Saeng-Gwabang, also known as saengmulbang, was the place they made special food for the royals during the Joseon Dynasty."

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Haemin Kim.) 

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