• Korean Security Journal
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• no.39
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• pp.7-35
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• 2014

The objective of this research is to find out what the Korean traditional changing of SooMunJang and the United Kingdom's ceremony of changing the guard suggests us by performing comparative analysis as well as research of the United Kingdom Household Division's history of transition, organization, and their missions since 1660. The Royal Household is a constitutional monarchy and served by the Household Division for 350 years as a symbol of the United Kingdom. The Household Division is a regular army that is affiliated to British Army. The Guards Division consists of two cavalry regiments and five infantry regiments along with the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery. The Household Division not only escorts the king, guards royal palace, and attends a official function, but also dispatched to a combat area as the most elite troops. Similarities in aspect of king escort, palace guard, and succession of tradition were found from the comparison between Korean and the United Kingdom's changing of the guard. On the other hand, fundamental purpose and objective, process of forming a tourist attraction, organization were distinctive. While the Household Division and the Royal Household became a worldwide symbol of the United Kingdom, Korean changing of SooMunJang is insufficient to represent Korean traditional royal guard custom and just reenacting historical tradition to emphasize the succession of tradition and to develop tourism. Therefore, this research is suggesting methods to improve the cultural contents of distinctive Korean traditional royal guard and escort of royal family.