Author Information
Vinia Rizqi Primawati, The Royal Palace of Yogyakarta, IndonesiaFanitra Pedi Atmanti, University of Tsukuba, Japan
Abstract
The Royal Palace of Yogyakarta (Kraton Jogja) is 260-year-old Javanese monarchy and living cultural institution. Located in Yogyakarta–the sister city of Kyoto–The Palace, which is traditionally rooted in hundreds of sacred heritage; ceremonies, way of life, heirlooms, beliefs, etc., initially faced resistance to digital adoption due to concerns over preserving cultural sanctity. These sacred heritage and inherent values within The Palace were previously known only to a limited audience, largely due to the absence of digital transformation, which is the primary focus of this paper. Despite this, the integration of digital exposure does not eradicate its authenticity. Using a mixed-method approach including literature review, stakeholder interviews, firsthand field experience, and digital platform analytics, this research investigates The Palace’s evolving digital strategy. Since launching its Instagram account in 2014, followed by YouTube, an official website, manuscripts digital archive, and TikTok, Kraton Jogja has grown into a trusted source of cultural knowledge and community engagement including its digital ecosystem all over the world. The findings affirm that digitalization acts as a tool for dissemination rather than dilution. It preserves sacred traditions while setting clear boundaries between what is publicly shared and what remains within institutional privacy. Moreover, this approach differentiates modernization from westernization, emphasizing local values and indigenous frameworks. All of which reinforce its role as a dynamic cultural epicenter. The paper concludes by highlighting the urgent need for digital archiving in safeguarding intangible heritage, and it considers future possibilities such as the use of artificial intelligence in long-term heritage/cultural conservation. Ultimately, The Palace’s digital journey illustrates how tradition and innovation can coexist to ensure continuity across generations. It ultimately affirms that tradition and technology need not exist in opposition, but can coalesce to uphold cultural legacy in the digital age.
Paper Information
Conference: MediAsia2025Stream: Social Media and Communication Technology
This paper is part of the MediAsia2025 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Primawati V., & Atmanti F. (2026) Preserving Sacred Heritage at the Royal Palace of Yogyakarta Through Digital Innovation ISSN: 2186-5906 – The Asian Conference on Media, Communication & Film 2025: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 201-214) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-5906.2025.16
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2186-5906.2025.16
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