Kim Dong-uk Korean Culture Series 3 PALACES OF KOREA by Kim Dong-uk HOLLYM Elizabeth, NJ Seoul PALACES OF KOREA Text Copyright © 2006 by The Korea Foundation Photo Copyright © 2006 by Suh Jae-sik All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations for reviews or in scholarly essays and books, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Planning, management, and financial support provided by • Korea Foundation ~'t't'iI~iP"O;! Translated by Michael Finch First published in 2006 by Hollym International Corp. 18 Donald Place, Elizabeth, New Jersey 07208, U.S.A. Phone: (908) 353-1655 Fax: (908) 353-0255 http://www.hollym.com Published simultaneously in Korea by Hollym Corp., Publishers 13-13, Gwancheol-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-111, Korea Phone: (82-2) 735-7551~4 Fax: (82-2) 730-5149, 8192 http://www.hollym.co.kr e-mail: [email protected] Hardcover edition ISBN: 1-56591-224-1 Paperback edition ISBN: 1-56591-225-x Library of Congress Control Number: 2005937303 Printed in Korea Contents Introduction 1 1 . Capitals and Palaces of East Asia 6 2. Brief History of Korean Palaces 15 1) Korean Dynasties 2) Palaces of the Ancient Kingdoms 3) Palaces of the Coryeo Dynasty 4) Palaces of the Joseon Dynasty 5) Palaces of the Korean Empire and Later Changes 6) Restoration Efforts Since the 1970s 3. Ceremonial Events and Daily Life 40 1) Important Palace Ceremonies 2) Daily Life in the Palaces 4 . Palace Architecture 58 5. Prominent Korean Palaces 67 1) Cyeongbokgung Palace 2) Changdeokgung Palace 3) Changgyeonggung Palace 4) Cyeonghuigung Palace 5) Deoksugung Palace 6) Royal Villas (Haenggung) Further Reading 128 Index 130 1. Capitals and Palaces of East Asia One does not have to be in Seoul very long to notice there are quite a few palaces in the city. Gyeongbokgung Palace (Palace of Great Felicity) is just behind Gwanghwamun intersection in the cen­ ter of Seoul. Barely one kilometer to the east are Changdeokgung Palace (Palace of Glorious Virtue) and Changgyeonggung Palace (Palace of Glorious Celebration). We can also find Deoksugung Palace (Palace of Virtuous Longevity) next to Seoul City Hall, and further west is Gyeonghuigung Palace (Palace of Joyful Splendor). Gwanghwamun (Gate of Radiant Transformation) is the name of the main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace and has become a sym­ bol of metropolitan Seoul. This and the other palaces are the most significant of all the historical remains in the city. Seoul has so many palaces because of the long history of the Jose0l1 Dynasty (1392-1910), which made this city its capital. Few other dynasties in the world have had such a long history-one royal line, unbroken for more than 500 years. Whenever the palaces were burned down or damaged by foreign invasions or internal crises, the king had to order another built in a different location. Also, many were constructed because of the king's desire for a better site. Palaces built in the Joseon era still survive in five locations. If we also include ones that were built and later disappeared, the num­ ber is even larger. Each was built for a different purpose. Some were used as the king's main residence (jeonggung ), while others were for concubines. One was built because a fortune teller had predicted that a king would be born there. Others were built in places said to be in­ fluenced by an auspicious mountain. The form and appearance of each differed according to the purpose for which it was built. Seoul eventually took shape around these many and varied palaces. 6 PALAC ES OF KO REA View of Gyeol1gbokgul'lg Palace In East Asia, palaces were more than just royal residences. They symbolized the nation itself. The king was believed to have been ap­ pointed by Heaven. His decisions were manifestations of the will of Heaven. They were accepted as being akin to the providence of Nature, a reflection of order in an ever-changing universe. If it did not rain for a long time, the king considered this to be his fault, so he would abstain from food and generally exercise self-restraint. Unusual astronomical events were also thought to be due to lack of virtue on the part of the king. During the Joseon period, the capital was sometimes called "Suseon." This name implied that the city was at the head of all good things and a perfect place. The king's city had to be an ideal place for everyone. And within the capital, the palaces were considered more im­ portant than anywhere else, as it was from there that the king issued edicts and governed his people. The problems of where to locate palaces and how to layout buildings when constructing a capital had long been a matter of concern in East Asia. At the time of the Chinese state of Zhou, before CAPITALS AND PALACES OF EAST ASIA 7 the 7th century B.C., the correct principles for laying out a capital and royal palaces were already claimed to have been decreed by Heaven. According to the Zhou Rites (ZhouIi), a book which contained the model plan for an ideal nation and society, a city had to be rectangular, measuring nine Ii (one Ii = approxO.4km ) in all four directions. It should be laid out so that it had three roads running north-south and three roads running east-west, and it had to have three gates in each of the four walls. It stated that the royal palace had to be in the center with the Royal Ancestral Shrine (Jongmyo) on its left and the Altar to the Gods of Earth and Grain (Sajikdan) on its right, while the royal court had to be placed in front of the palace and the marketplace behind it. The Royal Ancestral Shrine was where sacrificial rites were held for successive generations of previous kings. At the Altar to the Gods of Earth and Grain, sacrifices were made to ensure a successful harvest each year. The positioning of the Royal Ancestral Shrine to the left of the palace and the Altar to the Gods of Earth and Grain to the right symbolized that the spirits would take up positions on either side and protect the king within. The Shrine and the Altar were considered the two most important national institutions. They were also believed to be absolutely indispensable for the perpetuation of the state. The terms for these two places were frequently u sed in East Asia to signify the nation itself. Also, the position­ ing of the court in front and the marketplace be­ hind emphasized that the ministers regarded the royal commands foremost in tending af­ fairs of state, while the common people provid­ ed backup by engaging in commerce. Also of impor­ ideal appearance of a city in ancient times (Zhouli) tance to the city and the 8 PALACES O F KO REA palace were the inner wall N (gungseong) and the outer wall EB (hwangseong ). East Asian capitals generally had three defensive walls, with the royal palace in the center. The inner wall encircled the place where the king resided, and was in turn encircled by the outer wall. Be­ yond was the outermost wall (oe­ seong), which surrounded the area containing the administrative of­ fices and the homes of the common people. This three-fold system of walls was first to defend the palace in times of emergency, and second to maintain a sense of separateness from commoners outside. 20m i Not all East Asian palaces Drawing of a reconstruction of the Tang capital, Chang'm! (Xian) conformed absolutely to this de­ scription, but it was considered a model. In Chang' an, the 6th centu­ ry Tang capital, and in the Forbid­ den City in Beijing, the 14th centu­ ry Ming capital, we can see typical examples of this formula. There also, the Royal Ancestral Shrine is on the left of the p alace and the Altar to the Gods of Earth and Grain is on the right, all fortified by triple defensive walls. Chang' an was constructed on a massive scale with rectangular outermost walls that measured 9.7 kilometers by 8.6 kilometers. The Drawing of a reconstruction of Heijolojo in Japan CAPITALS AN D PALACES OF EAST ASIA 9 .