A place where my heart calms down. A must-visit place for a trip to Seoul

pic = Gyeonghoeru Pavilion, @wiki

It is a good place to go on a fine day. It is beautiful, admission fees are cheap, and there are many things to see. You can feel the beauty of Korea. Many foreigners come, and I recommend it because if you wear "Hanbok" with friends or lovers, the entrance fee is free and you look prettier in pictures.

Beautiful Gyeongbokgung Palace

There is a small flower garden in the sponsorship of Gyeongbokgung Palace Gyotaejeon Hall. This flower garden, which combines flower trees, chimneys, and stones, is called Amisan Mountain. The Amisan Mountain area is famous for spring flowers such as cherry trees, jade hawks, corrugated flowers, and azaleas. Spring flowers, which begin to bloom in mid-March, peak in April, and the scent of spring flowers becomes stronger at night. When the sun goes down, let's go to Gyeongbokgung Palace to enjoy spring flowers.

pic = Gwanghwamun @pixabay

Night tours of Gyeongbokgung Palace began in the first half of 2022. The night viewing of Gyeongbokgung Palace is a popular palace program that sells out as soon as tickets start to be booked every year. In particular, night viewing in the first half of the year is more popular because you can enjoy the night view of Gyeongbokgung Palace, where spring flowers are in full bloom. Night viewing of Gyeongbokgung Palace runs from April 1 to May 29, and tickets can be booked online.

pic = Hyangwonjeong Pavilion @pixabay

Currently, all the first reservations, which are scheduled to be held in April, are sold out, and the second reservation for the May tour schedule is scheduled to be held on Friday, April 22. Don't be disappointed that you missed your April reservation. If you visit wearing hanbok, you can watch it without booking a ticket.

Outline

Gyeongbokgung Palace is one of the palaces of the Joseon Dynasty in 161 Sajik-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and is the main palace and Buddhist palace of Joseon. It was designated as Historic Site No. 117. It is the first palace built during the Joseon Dynasty when King Taejo founded Joseon and carried out Hanyang Cheondo. Taejo was an outstanding general in the late Goryeo Dynasty and the founder of the Joseon Dynasty who founded Joseon in 1392.

King Taejo and Gyeongbokgung Palace

Historic Site No. 117 of Korea

4th year of King Taejo of Joseon (1395)

161, Cheongwadae-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul (Sejong-ro)

Historic Site Building / Political Defense / Palace / Government Office / Palace

432,703 m2

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Free Guides Tours in Foreign Languages
English : 11:00, 13:30, 15:30
Japanese : 10:00
Chinese : 13:00
Vietnamese : 15:00 (every Fri.)
Indonesian : 11:00 (every Fri.)

Tour starts in front of Gyeongbokgung Palace Information Center inside the Heungnyemun Gate.
Tour lasts for an hour to an hour and thirty minutes.
Visitors must wear masks.
Groups with 10 or more people must make a reservation in advance.
Individuals less than 10 people can join the same tour without a reservation.
Both the reserved groups and unreserved individuals are guided together by only one guide at a time.
Information: 02-3700-3900, -3904, -3905

Gyeongbokgung Palace from the sky

What is Gyeongbokgung Palace?

Frugal but not shabby, gorgeous but not extravagant

pic = Roof tile of Gyeongbokgung Palace

Since it is a palace planned by Shin-Jin-Daesabu, it was built in a simple and frugal form without colorful decorations compared to the palaces of the previous dynasties, reflecting the frugal Confucian ideology. The layout is in the form of Sammun and Samjo according to Confucian perspectives. During the early Joseon Dynasty before the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592, it played an important role as a Buddhist temple of the Joseon Dynasty. Gyeongbokgung Palace was designed with strict geometric space division, building arrangement on a straight axis, and a neat symmetrical structure to represent its authority as a Buddhist palace. It has a two-way system with Changdeokgung (& Changgyeonggung Palace), which is an Igung, and the kings used the two palaces alternately according to their own tastes.

pic = Painting from the Joseon Dynasty

Since the temple was destroyed during the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592, it has not been rebuilt for more than 200 years without access to the site, but Heungseon Daewongun rebuilt it and has been handed down to this day. For reference, Gyeongbokgung Palace, built by Heungseon Daewongun, and Gyeongbokgung Palace, which were destroyed during the Imjin War, are somewhat different. From the architectural style described before the Imjin War, you can guess the appearance of Gyeongbokgung Palace at that time. Above all, unlike the previous building, which gradually expanded to a maximum of 5,000 compartments, Heungseon Daewongun rebuilt it with 7,400 compartments at once. It was one and a half times the size at once.

pic = Guard at the main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace

As the current administrative district, it is located in Jongno-gu, Seoul. The nearest subway station is Gyeongbokgung Station, and if you exit Exit 5, you can enter Gwanghwamun, the main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace. And you can also walk from Anguk Station or Gwanghwamun Station. The road in front of Gyeongbokgung Palace was called Yukjo Street because there were various government offices, and this road is today Sejong-daero. It is said that Yukjo Street was built almost the same width as the current Sejong-daero because it was the central street of the country at that time. Currently, Gwanghwamun Square is located in the center of Sejong-daero. Nearby are the Blue House, the Constitutional Court, the Seoul Government Complex, the U.S. Embassy in Korea, and the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, and Insadong Street is quite close to Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Brief introduction of history and restoration

Early Joseon Dynasty

Construction of Gyeongbokgung Palace began in December 1394, more than three years after Joseon was founded, and the first construction was completed in late September 1395. It is a palace built before the Forbidden City of the Ming Dynasty, which is often compared. Construction of the Forbidden City began in 1406 and was completed in 1420. In other words, the explanation that Gyeongbokgung Palace modeled after Forbidden City is wrong. At the time of its first completion, Gyeongbokgung Palace was about 390 compartments, and the fact that it was 7,225 compartments at the time of the reconstruction of Heungseon Daewongun suggests that it was quite small and simple at first. At the time of completion, it was built mainly during the core days of the center of the palace, and there was no fence that distinguished the palace. Since then, construction has been continuously expanded, and in particular, large-scale expansion has been carried out in Sejong University, making it look like a palace.

pic = Forbidden City vs Gyeongbokgung Palace

The axis of Gyeongbokgung Palace and Gwanghwamun was twisted to the west to coincide with the axis connecting Bukhansan Mountain and Gwanaksan Mountain, and Muhaksa Temple insisted, "Since Gwanaksan Mountain is a mountain of fire, the city will be harmed if it is centered on Gwanaksan Mountain and Bukhansan Mountain." Accordingly, to prevent fire from Gwanaksan Mountain, only the 130m section of Gwanghwamun road was arranged on the same axis as Gyeongbokgung Palace, and from then on, the center of the road was tilted up to 39m to the east to the entrance of Jongno.

pic = Muhaksa temple

One of the symbolic buildings with traces of King Sejong's politics in Gyeongbokgung Palace is the Jiphyeonjeon Hall, which is only a palace temple not used by kings or royalty, and Jiphyeonjeon Hall was constructed as a large and beautiful building after Geunjeongjeon Hall and Gyeonghoeru. Not only were several new pavilions built at Sejong University, but existing buildings such as Sajeongjeon, which were built somewhat smaller in the early stages, were rebuilt. Gwanghwamun Gate was built in 1431.

pic = "Bukkwoldo", Hyechon Kim Hak-soo, 1975

As such, Gyeongbokgung Palace became a proper palace through Sejong University. The basic form of Gyeongbokgung Palace in the early Joseon Dynasty was completed during the reign of King Sejong. Since then, Gyeongbokgung Palace has played an important role as the main palace of Joseon throughout the early Joseon Dynasty. Even after Sejong University, Gyeongbokgung Palace continued to be expanded and renovated through several kings. Blue tiles were also raised in Geunjeongjeon and Gwanghwamun.

Later, during King Jungjong's reign, Donggungjeon Hall was burned down, and the biggest fire in Gyeongbokgung Palace before the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592, occurred during King Myeongjong's reign. A large fire broke out in 1553, and all buildings in the Pyeonjeon and sedimentation areas were destroyed except Geunjeongjeon. At this time, it is said that precious treasures and heritage that had been handed down from generation to generation from the Joseon Dynasty were also destroyed by fire. As a result of King Myeongjong's urging with the support of Yoon Won-hyung and others, large-scale manpower was mobilized and reconstruction was completed very quickly the following year.

Late Joseon Dynasty

The Imjin War broke out in 1592, 38 years after it was rebuilt during King Myeongjong's reign.

According to the Annals of King Seonjo's Sujeong, when King Seonjo left Pacheon, the city became a disgrace, and Gyeongbokgung Palace and other palaces were already burned and destroyed by the people before the Japanese army entered. It is widely believed that as soon as King Seonjo broke down, angry crowds looted and set fire to the palace, Hyeongjo, and funeral parlors as recorded in the Annals of King Seonjo's Correction. There is also a theory that the arsonists are not the people of Joseon, but the Japanese army. Some argue that the Japanese army set fire to describe the beauty of Gyeongbokgung Palace at the time of the fall of Hansung, but it is hard to trust the statement that Ozeki, who did not participate in the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592, saw Gyeongbokgung Palace. According to the Annals of King Seonjo, the Japanese military saw only four gates and Jongmyo Shrine. However, a book called Gyeongbokgung Palace Transformation History published by the Cultural Heritage Administration claims that the Japanese military burned it, and based on that, a book called Joseon Diary written by Jedaku, a monk who served in the Japanese military at the time, wrote about entering Hanseong and exploring Gyeongbokgung Palace.

pic = Imjin War, Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592.

After the Imjin War, King Seonjo, who returned to Hanyang, planned to rebuild Gyeongbokgung Palace first and actually began construction, but when the site of Gyeongbokgung Palace was so devastated that it was expected to take enormous supplies and time to restore it, he eventually gave up rebuilding Gyeongbokgung Palace first. Gwanghae-gun rebuilt Changgyeonggung Palace while living in Changdeokgung Palace, which was rebuilt after his enthronement, and built new Gyeonghui Palace and Ingyeonggung Palace, so many palaces were built at the same time, but Gyeongbokgung Palace was not rebuilt. It seems that the reconstruction of Gyeongbokgung Palace was intentionally avoided for feng shui reasons. In the end, Gyeongbokgung Palace was not rebuilt throughout the late Joseon Dynasty, and it has been known that the palace site has been left as a field for 270 years, tied to a restricted area for the general public.

Gyeongbokgung Palace was one of the main areas of Beom from the Joseon Dynasty to the end of the Joseon Dynasty thanks to the surrounding environment surrounded by dense forests. In addition, some of the "beams" recorded as tigers in the Joseon Dynasty were leopards, and it is estimated that the "city leopards" of University College London and London Zoo, which had lived in Hanyang during the Joseon Dynasty, hid in Gyeongbokgung Palace, which had been empty for nearly 300 years, and came out to hunt in downtown Hanyang.The abandoned Gyeongbokgung Palace was an ideal habitat for beasts, and it was directly connected to the surrounding mountains as well as the main hunting ground, the city center. In other words, he lived in seclusion in the ruins of Gyeongbokgung Palace, Inwangsan Mountain, and Bukaksan Mountain during the day, and crawled out to the city at night.

Joseon, Dragon and Tiger (19th century and part)

Heungseon Daewongun, who took power as the regent of King Gojong in 1864, began rebuilding Gyeongbokgung Palace to establish royal authority in 1865, the year after his reign. Two years later, in 1867, the reconstruction of Gyeongbokgung Palace was finally completed. Gyeongbokgung Palace, rebuilt by Heungseon Daewongun, had 7,225 compartments. The financial resources required for the reconstruction of Gyeongbokgung Palace were enormous, about 10 times the annual budget of Joseon at that time. To procure this, Heungseon Daewongun carried out unreasonable policies such as walking through Wonnapjeon and issuing Dangbaekjeon, which caused hyperinflation and ruined the Joseon economy, which eventually caused his fall.

Although Heungseon Daewongun rebuilt Gyeongbokgung Palace even as he consumed a lot of national power, Gojong, who is a real resident, did not like the newly built Gyeongbokgung Palace. In 1873, five years after moving into Gyeongbokgung Palace, King Gojong built a private house-type Geoncheonggung Palace in the northern corner of Gyeongbokgung Palace without his father Heungseon Daewongun knowing, and stayed there almost all the time until Agwanpacheon Stream. The site of the Eulmi Incident was also Gonnyeonghap in Geoncheonggung Palace. After the port was opened, modernization was also carried out, such as installing lights, inviting Russian architect Sabatin to change the gateway pavilion in Geoncheonggung Palace into a two-story Western pavilion.

Eventually, after the Eulmi Incident, King Gojong abandoned Gyeongbokgung Palace and fled to the Russian Embassy. After Agwanpacheon Stream, in 1897, King Gojong returned to Gyeongungung Palace, not Gyeongbokgung Palace, and declared the Korean Empire that year. At the time of return, Gyeongungung Palace had only two private houses left, so King Gojong carried out a large-scale construction of Gyeongungung Palace for six years from 1896 to 1902. It was more of a new palace than an extension work. At the time of construction, the pavilions of Gyeongbokgung Palace were demolished and the pavilions of Gyeongungung Palace were built.

Unlike Gyeongbokgung Palace, the pavilion of Changdeokgung Palace was not demolished at all. When the entire Gyeongungungung Palace was burned down by the Great Gyeongungung Palace fire in 1904, King Gojong and the court considered two things: whether to lead to Changdeokgung Palace or rebuild Gyeongungung Palace, but the method of using Gyeongbokgung Palace was not considered at all. At this point, King Gojong's attitude toward Gyeongbokgung Palace seems almost disgusting.

During the Japanese colonial era era

After the forced annexation of Korea and Japan, it became one of the palaces greatly damaged by the brutality of the Japanese Governor-General, who tried to suppress the spirit of the colony and examine its practicality. The Japanese government first held the Joseon C&T Gongjinhoe and removed about 4,000 buildings by pushing the eastern fence inside, and later built the government-general building in the form of blocking Geunjeongjeon and Gwanghwamun on the central axis of Gyeongbokgung Palace. In addition, he suffered all kinds of hardships throughout the Japanese colonial era, such as damaging various temples or smuggling them out to Japan as a whole. In addition, the spaces damaged by the Japanese colonial rule were used close to the concept of a kind of convention center, such as holding several of the aforementioned Joseon C&T Gongjin meetings and other fairs.

After liberation from Japanese colonial rule

It was Gyeongbokgung Palace, which was suffered by the Japanese colonial rule of Japanese colonial era, but Gyeongbokgung Palace has been suffered several times, watching the turbulent Republic of Korea even after liberation from Japanese colonial rule. The Government-General of Korea, a representative trace of suffering in Gyeongbokgung Palace, was used as the U.S. military government building after liberation, the North Korean military's chief of staff during the Korean War, and the government building after the ceasefire. In other words, Gyeongbokgung Palace has been at the center of Korean history again even after the fall of the Korean Empire and the resignation of the Korean Government-General.

Gyeongbokgung Palace, which had been suffering for a long time even after liberation, was finally re-examined as part of the rectification of history implemented by the civilian government in 1995. The government demolished the building of the former Japanese Government-General, and merged and relocated the 30th Guards, which were the main agents of the December 12 incident, to erase the remnants of Japanese imperialism and military dictatorship.

Restoration

To be exact, the current Blue House site is also the backyard of Gyeongbokgung Palace, so Cheong Wa Dae should be removed for complete restoration.

After the Kim Young-sam administration, full-fledged restoration of Gyeongbokgung Palace began. Starting with the demolition of the government building of the Government-General of Korea, restoration work is underway in several places so far. Therefore, some parts of Gyeongbokgung Palace are always under construction, but there is a problem with this construction, and like the National Folk Museum of Korea, the National Palace Museum was built in 1979 and even the Gyeongbokgung Station was connected.

pic = Gyeongbokgung Palace in winter @pixabay

In 1990, there were only 36 halls left in Gyeongbokgung Palace. At the time of King Gojong's reign, it was literally a vacant lot that almost all of them disappeared. Most of the lawn in the palace is the site of buildings. From the point of view of the cultural heritage that has disappeared, the lawn is sometimes called the tomb of buildings.

Controversy over restoration errors : Wrongly Restored

Gyeongbokgung Palace began to be restored in earnest when the former Government-General of Joseon was disbanded in 1995, but controversy has always arisen whenever the temples are restored. The reason is, of course, that we should know what the pavilion looks like and restore it. In fact, there are currently many scholars who are negative about this restoration. Once the pavilion is restored to its original shape, it is necessary to know what it looks like and what it looks like inside, but Gyeongbokgung Palace currently has no such design. What remains is not a painting, but an arrangement diagram of the North Palace. In other words, it only shows where the pavilions are located and how many compartments they are, but it is completely unknown what the interior looks like, what the stairs look like, and what the fear looks like. In addition, this Northern Palace shape was also made in the late Joseon Dynasty, so it is different from the appearance of Heungseon Daewongun. There are quite a few newly restored halls that have not been properly restored.

Tourist information

Opening Hours and Closed Days
January to February, November to December: 09:00 to 17:00 (last entrance 16:00)
March to May, September to October: 09:00 to 18:00 (last entrance 17:00)
June to August: 09:00 to 18:30 (last entrance 17:30)
Closed every Tuesday.

Gyeongbokgung Palace touring course

1. Gwanghwamun Gate

If you enter Gwanghwamun, you will find a ticket office. On the left is the National Palace Museum. If you have time, you may as well stop by.

2. Near-power failure

After buying tickets and passing Heungryemun Gate, Yeongjegyo Bridge, and Geunjeongmun Gate, you will find Geunjeongjeon Hall, the main course of viewing Gyeongbokgung Palace and Gyeongbokgung Palace. From here, the movement line is divided into three branches: Sujeongjeon Hall, which is the left gate, and Gyeonghoeru Pavilion, which is the pavilion, and Sajeongjeon Hall, which is the pavilion, and Jajindang Pavilion, which is the east gate, and Bihyeongak Pavilion. Either way, the road that had been diverged gathers again in the battle of circumstances.

3. Ratedition

Passing through the Sajeongmun Gate behind Geunjeongjeon, you will find Sajeongjeon, a biased view.

4. Exhibition of the Gangnyeong/Kyotae

After Sajeongjeon Hall, there is Gangnyeongjeon Hall, the king's sediment, and Gyotaejeon Hall, the queen's sediment, is behind Gangnyeongjeon Hall.

5. Autobiography

After the Gyotaejeon, there will be Jagyeongjeon, a war of preparedness. Heungbokjeon Hall can be seen over the wall, but it is not officially opened, so you cannot enter.

6. Hamhwadang / Jipgyeongdang

If you go north from Jagyeongjeon Hall, you will find Hamhwadang and Jipgyeongdang on the left, and the National Folk Museum of Korea on the right. You can also complete the tour by following the left palace path further or visiting the National Folk Museum.

7. Hyangwonjeong Pavilion / Geoncheonggung Palace

If you go further north from Hamhwadang and Jipgyeongdang, you will find Hyangwonjeong Pavilion and Geoncheongung Palace, which are sponsored pavilions.

8. Jipokjae / Palujeong / Hyeopgildang

If you enter the left road between Hyangwonjeong Pavilion and Geoncheonggung Palace, you will find Jipokjae Pass, Palwoojeong Pavilion, and Hyeopgildang.

9. Taewonjeon Hall

If you go to the left of Jipokjae Pass, you will find Taewonjeon Hall, the last course of visiting Gyeongbokgung Palace. You can go to Yeongchumun Gate along the side road to the south of Taewonjeon Hall or go a little further to the National Palace Museum or Gwanghwamun Gate.

pic = Various aspects of Gyeongbokgung Palace

Event

1. Hydrological Replacement Ceremony

It is an event that reproduces the shifts of military officers belonging to the Hydrological Administration in order during the Joseon Dynasty. In Seoul, it is held at Gyeongbokgung Palace, Deoksugung Palace, and Changdeokgung Palace, and it is benchmarked to provide floodgate field rotation ceremonies at tourist attractions in cities and provinces across the country, including Nakaneupseong Fortress, Jinju Castle, Andong City Ungbu Park.

The royal gatekeeper's rotation ceremony is held twice every time. Among them, performances such as opening ceremony, lower part of the gunho, changing ceremony of the gatekeeper, performance of the chwitadae, and changing position of the rider are held. The shift ceremony every Saturday afternoon prior to COVID-19 has not been held at the moment. This is because Ph.D. mothers are holding a rally in front of Daehanmun Gate (...), so only innocent tourists are suffering. Before the rally began, the morning shift took place at 11 o'clock.

2. The ceremony of entering and leaving the Joseon Dynasty officials

The Joseon Dynasty's official entrance and exit ceremony is one of the side events of the gatekeeper's rotation ceremony organized by the Korea Cultural Heritage Protection Foundation ( Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation), and is a ceremony that reproduces the attendance and departure of civil servants to Gwanghwamun.

3. Special Night View

The Gyeongbokgung Palace at night was opened to the public for the first time in 615 years, wishing for a successful hosting of the G20 summit in 2010. As it became very popular, the Cultural Heritage Administration divided it into the first and second half of each year and regularized it twice a year (10 days a year). Starting in the second half of 2013, the opening will be expanded to four times a year (48 days a year), 12 days a year. The opening time is from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., and the closing time is until 9 p.m., an hour before the end of the tour. The open range is Gwanghwamun, Hongryemun, Geunjeongmun, Geunjeongjeon, and Gyeonghoeru, which are about 40% of the total area of Gyeongbokgung Palace, and the admission fee is 3,000 won.

4. Free admission

Free admission is also available for hanbok dressers. You can wear a costume regardless of gender.

5. The Old Palace Concert

It is divided into day and night. The day is held every spring and autumn from Friday to Sunday during the royal cultural festival, and the night is held during the night special viewing period of Gyeongbokgung Palace.

On a good spring day, let me introduce you to Gyungbokung Palace!

A place where my heart calms down. A must-visit place for a trip to Seoul

Beautiful Gyeongbokgung Palace

Outline

What is Gyeongbokgung Palace?