This year's nighttime national heritage media art will be held in 12 regions across the country. The Korea Heritage Service and the Korea Heritage Agency announced today that "2026 National Heritage Media Art" will begin at Jinjuseong Fortress on Aug. 14 and run in sequence through Nov. 8. That is four more than the eight regions of last year. Media facades, mixed reality (MR) and virtual reality (VR) will be joined by artificial intelligence (AI).
The host sites run from Jinju at the head of the list to Gunsan, Gyeongju, Iksan, Buyeo, Ganghwa, Cheorwon, Asan, Tongyeong, Yangsan, Cheongju and Yeosu. The programs are grouped into three strands: "Light of Royal Capitals and Civilization," "Light of Defense and Peace" and "Light of Cities and Daily Life."
Jinjuseong Fortress will present "Gaonnuri Jinjuseongdo" from Aug. 14 to Sept. 6. When visitors strike a drum, pomegranate blossoms bloom on the wall of Chokseongnu Pavilion. Gongbungmun Gate and the statue of General Kim Si-min are also used in the staging.
Light does not touch stone or wood. This is why media art is often chosen as a route for making use of heritage. But no separate evidence has been presented that lighting kept on through the night is harmless to wooden members, pigments and the organisms that live around them.
At the Mireuksa Temple Site in Iksan, a lost wooden pagoda 30 meters tall will be raised as a media facade, with lighting and lasers laid over the remaining pagoda foundation and the east and west stone pagodas. It runs from Sept. 4 to 27.
Over the same period, "Daereungwon, Eternity: Beyond a Thousand Years into Eternity" will be held at Daereungwon in Gyeongju. It traces the era when the Gyeongju basin was formed, the process by which Silla grew into an ancient state, and its golden culture.
The Jeongnimsa Temple Site in Buyeo will deal with the wisdom of the baksa (博士), the scholars who led the golden age of Sabi Baekje, from Sept. 7 to 27. An AI-based experience is included here. It takes the form of visitors following the knowledge of Baekje.
At the Goryeo Palace Site in Ganghwa, "Ganghwa, 39 Years of Goryeo: Reconnecting a Brilliant Light" will be held from Sept. 11 to Oct. 4. The palace that was relocated amid war will be virtually restored with media facades and lasers. The Historic Site of Admiral Yi Sun-sin in Asan will float scenes of Myeongnyang and Noryang on a pond inside the site from Sept. 18 to Oct. 11.
The character of the remaining host sites also differs in each case. Gunsan will stage "Sights of Bustling Gunsan Wrapped in Light" using the Modern History Museum and the main building of the old Gunsan Customs House. The Workers' Party Headquarters in Cheorwon will present "Peace, Emergency," dealing with division and peace, and the Naval Headquarters of the Three Provinces in Tongyeong will open "A Time of Flourishing, and an Age of Light" at Sebyeonggwan Hall.
Tongdosa Temple in Yangsan will follow the journey of spiritual practice with "Tongdo, Reaching Stillness" across the entire temple grounds. Cheongju will attempt an urban staging called "Opening Cheongju's Treasures with Light," tying together the iron flagpole of the Yongdusa Temple Site and the old city center.
Jinnamgwan Hall in Yeosu has completed a full dismantling and repair. "Jinnamgwan, Rebuilt (再建) in Light," which puts the word rebuilding directly in its title, deals with victory in battle and return.
Practical information such as nighttime operating hours, admission fees and reservation methods is set differently for each region. Guidance by region is posted on the official website (www.kh.or.kr/visit).
The earliest door to open is Jinjuseong Fortress. On the night of Aug. 14, the arm of a person holding a drumstick will move and red blossoms will spread over the timber of Chokseongnu Pavilion. The blossoms will be erased and the wood will remain. Keeping that order is left as homework for the places that come after.
