Yamaguchi: Korean Envoy’s Edo-Era Procession Reenacted; Restored Ship Visits Japan Again

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:29 JST, September 7, 2024 (updated at 16:15 JST, May 1, 2025)

SHIMONOSEKI, Yamaguchi — A replica of a ship used to carry out Korean diplomatic missions to Japan in the Edo period (1603-1867) recently made a port call in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, one of its ports of call at that time.

The crew of the replica ship then reenacted in August a procession of the diplomatic missions, which were sent by the Joseon dynasty. The parade received applause from the audience.

The restored ship is a 34.5-meter-long wooden diesel ship with a 22-meter-high sail pole built in 2018 by South Korea’s National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage. It made its first visit to Japan in August 2023 when it stopped in Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture.

This year, the ship has called at Tsushima, Iki in Nagasaki Prefecture and Ainoshima in Fukuoka Prefecture. All of these ports were once ports of call for the delegation.

On Aug. 24 and 25, the crew participated in the Bakan Festival in Shimonoseki, where about 200 citizens of the city and South Korea’s Busan dressed in the costumes of the envoys and samurai and paraded through the area playing Korean folk instruments.

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In this story uploaded on Sept.7, 2024, the length of the replica of the Korean delegation’s ship was mistakenly described as 27 meters. The length was corrected to be 34.5 meters on May 1, 2025.