Gyeongbokgung Palace
1. Gyeongbokgung Palace
- 1 - 1. Upon entering Gyeongbokgung Palace
This was the palace of the last dynasty of Korea before the government of the Republic of South Korea. Gyeongbokgung Palace was completed three years after the foundation of Joseon, the last Korean kingdom founded in 1392. It was a monumental feat of architecture announcing the birth of a new dynasty. Most of all, this palace reflects the founding philosophy of Joseon, which is Confucianism. The person who designed and supervised the construction of the capital was a leading Confucian scholar named Jeong Do-jeon. He wanted to express the goals of the new dynasty in accordance with the ideals of Confucianism. According to Confucianism, one needs to train his mind and body before he can teach others and rule the world. Therefore, the Confucian scholar reasoned that a palace shouldn’t be a symbol of sovereign power, but a place where the king himself cultivates his mind and rule over his people with the help of good government officials. For this reason, it was not a value of Confucianism to build an extravagant palace.
- 2 - The Confucian architect wanted to build a palace that’s not grand or imposing, but rather simple and elegant. The name of the palace ‘gyeongbok’ is a word borrowed from one of the Confucian scriptures that means to ‘enjoy good fortune and prosper’. The name also shows good wishes for the new dynasty. It’s the same with the names of other buildings in the palace grounds, as they're all named based on the philosophy of Confucianism.
Most of the buildings in Gyeongbokgung Palace were burnt down by a fire set in times of war. The Korean government is trying to restore the buildings. Today, about one-third of the 500 buildings that existed at the time of King Gojong were restored.
Okay then, let’s take a tour of Gyeongbokgung Palace, shall we?
- 3 - 2. Gwanghwamun Gate
This is Gwanghwamun Gate. Gyeongbokgung Palace has four gates to the north, south, east, and west, each for different ranks and classes of people. This is the south gate. Confucianism defines the order and logic of all things related to people. According to the philosophy, the King must sit facing the south, and all the palace buildings during the Joseon period were built with this in mind.
For this reason, Gwanghwamun Gate is the front gate since it's located in the southern part of the palace.The front gate consists of three doors, with the middle one designated for the king. The door to the east was for scholar officials, while the door to the west was for military officials and technical staff to pass through.
There is an animal sculpture made of a granite rock in front of the front gate. It’s a sculpture of an imaginary animal called ‘Haechi’. It is said that its big eyes can judge between right or wrong. It was placed there to remind all the officials coming to the palace that they should have a conscience and be fair in their political activities.
Gwanghwamun Gate was destroyed due to fire and wars. It was relocated during the Japanese Occupation of Korea, and was bombed during the Korean War. The gate was restored in 1990. Take a look at the ceiling as you pass through the gate. You’ll see that a mythical creature called ‘Jujak’, a Korean equivalent of phoenix, was painted there to protect the gate. It symbolizes the south direction.
- 4 - 3. Heungnyemun Gate
This is Heungnyemun Gate, the second gate to Gyeongbokgung Palace. This gate used to be guarded by gatekeepers around the clock. The Royal Guard Changing Ceremony is still held today to show the visitors how it was done in the past.
This gate was demolished in 1926 during the Japanese Occupation of Korea. The Japanese Forces had the gate removed so they can build the Japanese Government General of Korea here. Along with the gate, a number of buildings and large portion of the palace wall were destroyed for the construction of the Japanese building. After Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, the Japanese Government General Building was used as a Korean government building before being turned into a museum.
In 1995, the Korean government had this building demolished to restore its history and legitimacy and restore this gate. Let’s pass through the new Heungnyemun Gate, shall we?
(Japanese Government General Building)
- 5 - 4. Yeongjegyo Bridge
Yeongjegyo Bridge is made of stone, and the stream of water flowing beneath it is called ‘Geumcheon’, or the ‘Forbidden Stream’ in Korean. It’s because you’ll be entering the king's property and that you should be careful what you say or do.
According to feng shui, an auspicious site is the one that has a mountain behind and a stream of water flowing in front. Gyeongbokgung Palace had a mountain behind it, but didn’t have any water flowing in front of it. That’s why they had to create this stream by drawing in water.When the administrative building was built during the Japanese Occupation, this stone bridge was disassembled and relocated, and even the stream was filled. The bridge as you see today was restored after the Japanese colonial rule of Korea.
There are animal sculptures below and on either side of the bridge. Their eyes look as though they’re watching the visitors. Their job is to fend off evil spirits from the palace. However, they have a funny look on their face. The sculpture on the left side and end of the bridge is sticking its tongue out. Koreans in the old days expressed their sense of humor through such artworks, even in a serious and solemn place like palace. It’s one of the characteristics of Joseon.
- 6 - 5. Geunjeongmun Gate
This gate opens to Geunjeongjeon Hall, where official royal events were held. Take a close look at the stairs in front of the gate. You’ll see a sculpture of a beautiful bird in the middle of the stair. It’s the Korean phoenix called ‘bonghwang’. For many centuries, the bird has been the symbol of the king, and story has it that the mythical creature only shows up during a reign of peace. Obviously, the bird sculpture indicates that the passage is designated for the king only. But it’s sloped, and can be very slippery in the rainy or snowy day. So how did the king pass through this? On a palanquin of course.
●Dancheong Korean palaces and temples are painted with various patterns in different colors. This painting work is called ‘dancheong’, which literally means ‘red and blue-green’ in Korean. In addition to decorative purposes, it also protects the wood from fungal decay and attack by termites.Five basic colors of blue, red, yellow, white, and black were normally used when the wooden materials are coated with
- 7 - dancheong. These five colors symbolize the harmony of the universe, as east is represented by the color of blue, west by white, south by red, north by black, and center by yellow. Traditional Korean toppings, clothes, handicrafts, and buildings are mostly in these five colors.
- 8 - 6. Geunjeongjeon Hall, the Royal Court Yard
Geunjeongjeon Hall is the central area of Gyeongbokgung Palace. From here, you can take in the entire view of the palace building with Bukaksan Mountain in the background. You’ll see that the ridge of the roof is in harmony with the mountain ridge. It’s a perfect harmony between the nature and architecture.
Geunjeongjeon Hall is where important government events were held such as enthronement of the king, appointment of the crown prince, official morning assembly, welcoming reception for foreign envoys. What’s interesting is that the enthronement ceremony took place at Geunjeongmun Gate if the King is dead. If the King was still alive or dethroned, the ceremony was held at Geunjeongjeon Hall.
What are the stone monuments in rows on the ground? They represent the title of the person standing behind it. The closer the slab of stone is to the hall where the king is, the higher the rank of the person standing behind it. The rows on the east are for civil officials, while the ones on the west are for military officials.
- 9 - At a first glance, the area looks like it’s on an even ground, but it slopes down to the south. It's because the building was designed in consideration of the natural landscape with a mountain on the north. As a result, the slope accentuates the dignity of the building. In addition to this, water doesn’t collect in this area on a rainy day, and flows out through the drainage holes on the eastern and western parts of the open corridor.
Take a look at the ground. You’ll see that the ground is covered with granite slabs, all of which are rough on the surface. The surface of the stone is designed to be rough because if it was smooth, it would reflect sunlight, and the king would have to frown at the officials because of the sunlight. It was a piece of wisdom from the masons.
The open corridors surrounding this building were filled with spaces for different purposes. Unfortunately, all of them were demolished in the past and you can only see the open corridors today.
- 10 - 7. Geunjeongjeon Hall, the Stylobates
Geunjeongjeon Hall is guarded by sculptures of 36 mythical creatures. They’re there to drive away evil spirits from where the King stays. In addition to the four guardian kings that protect the north, south, east and west, there are also other sculptures of rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, etc. Each of these animals is guarding a direction and looking at different directions. They'll look cute and innocent. Below the stylobates, there are sculptures of animals with a baby. They may be the guardians of this very solemn place, but look very friendly as well.
On the roof of Geunjeongjeon Hall, you’ll see various terracotta figures from the Chinese novel ‘Journey to the West’. They’re believed to protect the king. These figures are allowed only in the buildings where the king stays or conducts his business.
On one side of stylobate is a bronze bowl. It used to be always filled with water. In the time of Joseon, some people believed that there is something called the ‘Fire Ghost’. A story has it that the ghost once
- 11 - came to a house to set the house on fire, but then it saw the reflection of his face on the bowl of water, get shocked by his ugly face, and ran away. This bronze bowl was placed here not to scare the ghost away, but to warn the residents of the danger of fire. According to the law books of Joseon, they had a fire safety system at the time. Fire safety was particularly important for them especially since all the palace buildings are made of wood.
- 12 - 8. Inside Geunjeongjeon Hall
Geunjeongjeon Hall is located in the middle of Gyeongbokgung Palace, and it was named by the architect. The name simply means to be ‘diligent in official duties'. The message is quite simple and obvious, but it was still named as such to remind the king that he should be diligent in serving his people. So the building was not named to show the authority of the king, but to remind him of his role and duty as the king.From the outside, the building may look like a two-story building, but you’ll see that it’s actually a single story building once you step inside. The ceiling is engraved with two golden dragons. In the West, The dragon is often regarded as a symbol of evil, but it’s different in Asia. Dragon is a very sacred creature and a god that brings rain. It also symbolizes the king.
There is a chair for the King in the middle of a row of sliding paper doors , and a folding screen behind it. All the thrones in the palaces of Joseon have a painting like this behind them. The red sun symbolizes the king, while the white moon symbolizes the queen. The five peaks represent the five most famous mountains in Korea. The pine tree represents vitality, while the ocean waves represent the wishes for the king to rule the entire nation. During the Joseon period, it was forbidden to draw or display the king’s face without permission. That’s why these pictures were placed in place of a portrait of the king since they all symbolize the king.
- 13 - 9. Sajeongjeon Hall
Sajeongjeon Hall was the King’s office. It was where a Cabinet meeting was held every morning. The King also studied Confucian scriptures with the officials, and held discussions with them to reach an agreement in politics. The chroniclers recorded everything that went on here, and what they wrote is called ‘sacho’.
They even followed the king wherever he went, and wrote down every word and movement of the king. The Joseon Dynasty had a system that enabled them to maintain objectivity. The King was not allowed to see the records, since the main purpose of the records was to keep the kings in check in exercising their power.
In addition to this, the Royal Secretariat kept a diary of the king. They wrote down how the King spent his day, what his orders were, what were reported to each government division, and every word spoken or movement made by the King every day of the year. This compilation of records is titled the ‘Seungjeongwon ilgi’, or the ‘Diary of Seungjeongwon’ in Korean. It's the world’s largest compilation of records on the same topic. These draft documents were put together to publish the ‘Joseon Wangjo Sillok’, or the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty’, after the king dies. These two compilations are all registered in UNESCO’s Memory of the World for their value.
The rulers of Joseon tried very hard to leave historical records behind for their descendants to judge the history of Joseon as accurately as possible and use it to solve their problems. This effort is actually one of the reasons why the Joseon Dynasty was able to last for more than five centuries.
- 14 - ● Sundial
There is a round bronze sundial in front of Sajeongjeon Hall. It’s a device that tells the time of the day by the shadow cast by the sun. It’s unique in that it's shaped like a bowl. It's designed like this so it won’t be affected as much by the angle of the sun. The vertical lines of the sundial tell the time of the day, while the horizontal lines tell the subdivisions of the seasons. So if you follow the horizontal shadow, you’ll be able to see in which subdivision of the season you’re currently in. This elaborate sundial was a great help to the farmers at the time.
- 15 - 10.Gangnyeongjeon Hall
This was the King’s bedroom. It’s where the King rested after a hard day’s work. The layout of the room is quite unique. There are a total of nine rooms between sliding paper doors, with the king’s bedroom in the center. When all the sliding doors are wide open, the nine rooms become one large room. There are nine more rooms in the similar shape across the wide, short hallway with a wooden floor, and they can also be turned into one large room by opening the sliding doors. All the doors are closed when the King goes to bed, which is in the room in the center. The other rooms are where court ladies and guards stayed throughout the night to assist the King. The kings of Joseon started their day very early in the morning. Acting with propriety was one of the most important virtues during the Joseon period, even for the King. So the King had to get up early, say good morning to the elder members of the royal family, and then start a meeting with government officials. It was only after the meeting that he would have some time for breakfast. After breakfast, it was time for lower ranking officials to report to the king. After reviewing all the reports, the King would have to study until lunchtime. The King studied Confucian scriptures with officials and have a discussion with them. The King had such study and discussion sessions three times a day. After lunch, the King had to meet officials from other regions and envoys from other countries. In the meanwhile, he also had to read all the reports sent by officials and Confucian scholars in many regions of the country.
So the King is basically swamped with work all day long, until he could finally come here and rest. Doesn’t this room look too simple to be the King’s bedroom? It was because ‘integrity’ was the highest value that an official of the Joseon period can have. The King was no exception to this rule. He had to set an example as the king as it was one of his most important duties.
- 16 - 10-1. The Chimneys and Furnaces of Gangnyeongjeon Hall
There are beautiful chimneys in front of the wall next to the gate between the back garden of Gangnyeongjeon Hall and Gyotaejeon Hall. The chimneys are detached from the building because of the heating system. Traditionally, Koreans used floor heating, with the furnace underneath the floor. There are four such furnaces on the left side of Gangnyeongjeon Hall. See if you can find them. To make this floor heating system more efficient, most buildings were built a little above the ground and rooms were made small for heat preservation. This system makes the rooms more space efficient than the wall furnaces in the West or kotatsu in Japan, both of which have the heat source inside the room. This type of floor heating system has other advantages as well, such as no soot marks on the ceiling and people in the room don’t have to breathe in the smoke. In the palace, real charcoal was used instead of firewood to reduce soot damage on the painted eaves. In addition to this, they laid an underground pipe for the smoke to pass through the chimneys. In short, it's a very scientific design that doesn’t harm the architectural beauty.
- 17 - 11. Gyotaejeon Hall
Gyotaejeon Hall was where the queen resided. Confucianism was the code of ethics adopted by Joseon, and it forbade men and women mingling in activities. The same rule applied to the king and queen. For this reason, this hall was one of most restricted areas in the palace. Even the queen’s biological father and brothers needed a special permission to enter this area. The queen was the head of all the females living in the palace, including concubines and court ladies. She particularly played a very important role in the preparation for official events such as ancestral rites and funerals. She also had to set a good example by doing the kinds of work that the government recommends women to do. What the queens did the most was picking mulberry leaves and feeding them to silkworms, so they can produce silk. Above all, the queen's most important duty was to bear a son. The King would come to the queen’s bedroom when the royal astrologer determines that it’s an auspicious day according to the energy of the king and the sky. A team of experts in obstetrics and gynecology is formed after conception and one month before the expected due date, and they recorded everything about the mother and baby.
●Samgantaek
Royal marriage was a complicated process. First of all, when the King or Crown Prince is looking for a bride, prohibition of marriage is announced across the country. The candidates must go through three interviews after their family background and properties are reviewed. The elder female members of the royal family are the ones who oversee the interviews, to narrow down the candidates. After the final candidate is chosen, she then must stay a palace building to learn the royal etiquettes before the marriage with the King.
- 18 - 12. Back Garden of Gyotaejeon Hall
This is the back garden where the queen rested. It was built for the queen who didn’t have the freedom to go outside. Made on the stairs, the garden is small and pretty. At Gyeonghoeru Pavilion that you’ll see in a moment, there is a written record saying that this garden was made with the dirt from the construction of the pond where the pavilion is located . These stairs were made to prevent dirt from flowing down, and were designed to be at the queen’s eye level when she’s in the room. In Joseon, people thought it was important to build structures that can harmonize with the surrounding landscape when seen from the inside.
There are four chimneys at the top of the garden. The hexagonal shape and beautiful patterns on them make them look very unique. They’ve been there for over 150 years. You’ll also see that there are two ‘stone ponds ’, or stone sculptures shaped like a pond.
Each of them represents the moon and sunset, respectively. They were placed there to symbolize the nature without having to build an artificial lake. These are a classic example of the sense of beauty that people of Joseon had, and how they appreciated the nature and tried to keep things to minimum so they don’t harm the natural landscape.
The life of the queens couldn’t have been easy, because most of them were chosen to marry the Crown Prince and live in the palace in their teens. They also had to supervise palace keeping chores. So they would come here for a moment to relax for a while taking in the view of the changing seasons.
- 19 - 13. Heumgyeonggak Pavilion
Heumgyeonggak Pavilion was the royal science hall during the Joseon period. The name of the building literally means to ‘revere the heavens and tell the people the right moments’. An array of observation devices was stored here to study the stars for the people.
In an agricultural country, it was one of the King’s duties to know the climate changes and tell his people when it’s the right time to start farming. It was for this reason this institute was located near the King’s residence. The kings of Joseon always kept an eye on climate changes to help the lives of his people. King Sejong, or more commonly known as ‘Sejong the Great’ among Koreans, was the one who was most interested in astrology and meteorology. He hired many talented people in these areas of study and ordered them to invent a sundial and water clock. The sundial developed at the time of his reign not only told the time of the day, but also the subdivisions of the seasons. Needless to say, it was very useful for farmers.
- 20 - 14. Gyeonghoeru Pavilion
Gyeonghoeru Pavilion was the banquet hall for the Joseon Dynasty. It was built for the purpose of entertaining the King and officials and receiving foreign envoys. It stands on an artificial island in the middle of an artificial pond. The pavilion has a total of 48 columns to add grandeur to the architecture. You’ll see that the pavilion is in harmony with the surrounding environment. Take a look at the mountains behind and on the west side of the pavilion, and see how the roof ridge naturally joins the ridges of the mountains. The beautiful line of the ridges is reflected on the surface of the calm water. There are no walls or doors in this structure, making it a great place to enjoy the view of the surrounding nature. But if you want to get the most of your visit, you should go to the second floor. You need to make a reservation to go up to the second floor. On the second floor, you’ll find yourself standing in the middle of the beautiful natural scenery and enjoying the changing scenery around you. Oriental philosophy is incorporated in many aspects of the architecture. Take a look at the stone columns. The ones on the outside are square, while the ones on the inside are cylindrical. They were designed like this to convey the philosophical message that the land is square, and but sky is round.
● The Bronze Dragons of the Gyeonghoeru Pond
Gyeonghoeru Pavilion was set on fire during one of the Japanese invasions of Korea in the mid-Joseon period. It was rebuilt 270 years
- 21 - after it was burnt down. A record shows that they placed two bronze dragons in the pond with the hope that they’ll protect the pavilion from fire. These two dragons were actually unearthed while the water was being drained during the reconstruction of the pond in 1997. The dragons are now on display at the National Palace Museum of Korea.
- 22 - 15. Sujeongjeon Hall
This building was home to an academic research institute in the past. King Sejong put together a team of the brightest minds of the time, and had them continue their study and publish books here. These researchers didn’t have to meddle with the politics, got paid vacations, and didn’t have to worry about being transferred to another institute. All they had to do was concentrate on their field of study.
Books on a countless number of scientific devices and arts were published here. However, their greatest achievement was the creation of Hangeul, the Korean alphabet. At the time, most noblemen used Chinese characters, which were hard to read and write for the common people. Seeing this as a problem, King Sejong began to study with the scholars to come up with a new alphabet. The Korean alphabet consists of 14 consonants and 10 vowels, which can be used to describe the widest range of sound compared to other phonetic systems in the world. Most of all, two of the greatest features of this system is that it’s easy to learn and you can read as it is written. For this reason, a number of countries who do not have an alphabet of their own chose Hangeul as their written language. Hangeul was registered in the UNESCO Memory of the World List. Today, UNESCO grants the King Sejong Award to individuals and organization making contributions to the elimination of illiteracy.
- 23 - 16. Flower Walls of Jagyeongjeon Hall
This is where the residence of the king’s mother starts. You’ll see a beautiful wall surrounding the building. They’re made of scarlet bricks patterned with different types of flowers, such as ume, orchid, peach, peony, chrysanthemum, bamboo, and lotus. There are even bees, butterflies, and birds along with the flowers. This is why this is called the ‘Flower Wall’.
These patterns were not engraved on the bricks. They’re actually pieces of baked clay fitted together like the pieces of a puzzle. In between the flower patterns, you’ll also see some Chinese characters, which mostly mean honorable, longevity, joy, and health. Take a closer look at the scarlet bricks. You’ll notice that there are almost no gaps between the bricks, and the bricks were put together tightly like this as a way of wishing for the mother to live a long life.
- 24 - 17. 자Jagyeongjeon Hall
This was the residence of the king’s mother. The King, Queen, Crown Prince, and Princess Consort started and ended the day here. It was because all of them were required to greet the King’s grandmother early in the morning and in the evening every day. The name of the building literally means: ‘happiness to Mother’.
Jagyeongjeon Hall isn’t one of the buildings that were built during the construction of Gyeongbokgung Palace. It was built by King Gojong’s father in the late Joseon. It has an interesting historical background. Throughout the history of Joseon, a number of king’s mothers took care of political affairs if the newly enthroned king was too young. Queen Consort Sinjeong for whom this hall was built also played the role. The role of the Queen Consort was quite extraordinary because women didn’t have the rights that men did during the Joseon period. Queen Consort Sinjeong’s son became the new king but died shortly after his enthronement without a son. The opposing party chose one of the royal family members and made him the new king, but he also died suddenly after the enthronement. After this, she adopted a 12-year old boy from the royal bloodline as his son, and made him the king. He later became King Gojong, and this building was built by his father for the Queen Consort as a token of appreciation. So this building alone tells a lot about the history of late Joseon.
- 25 - 18. Donggung Palace (Jaseondang and Bihyeongak Halls)
This was the residence of the Crown Prince. During the time of Joseon, the east is not only where the sun rises but also a symbol of the spring season. Spring is a season when everything comes to life. Likewise, the Crown Prince was regarded as the rising sun and also spring full of life. For this reason, the Crown Prince’s residence was always built in the eastern part of the palace, and named ‘Donggung’, which literally means ‘The East Palace’.
Sadly it was burnt down during a war. Among all the buildings that belonged to the East Palace, only Jaseondang and Bihyeongak Halls were restored today. Jaseondang Hall was where the Crown Prince and Princess Consort lived, and Bihyeongak Hall served both as his office and classroom.
In Joseon, the Queen Consort’s eldest son was appointed as the Crown Prince after reaching the age of 10. After his appointment, the Crown Prince had to live here away from his mother, because he was regarded as an adult after the appointment. It was here where the Crown Prince received the education and training necessary to become the next king. He mostly studied the books of Confucianism, history, music, and art. He also learned to ride horses and shoot a bow at the same time.
There was even a special government office in charge of educating the crown prince. Needless to say, only the most renowned scholars of the time were invited as a private tutor to the crown prince. In addition to their scholastic abilities and achievements, the teachers were submitted to a close scrutiny. The interviewers even took into account their great-great-grandfather before appointing them to the highly honored position. The crown prince was required to take tests very often. He had to take
- 26 - the monthly exam in the presence of 20 teachers and the king. It must have been very stressful for the Crown Prince, but the education of the crown prince had to be perfect in order to make him a good king.
During the Japanese Occupation of Korea, Jaseondang Hall was relocated to the front yard of a Japanese to be used as a private library. It was burnt down in the Great Earthquake of Japan, and only the stone foundations remained. It wasn’t until 1995 that the Korean government was able to retrieve the stone foundations. Sadly, these stone foundations were heavily damaged and couldn’t be used in the restoration project. They’re currently stored in the mountain behind Geoncheonggung Palace.
● Toilets in the Palace
This is the restoration of the palace toilets. They were used by the palace officials. The King and Queen didn’t have a bathroom in their room, because they used a removable toilet, which was made by placing a bronze bowl under a wooden frame. They put ashes in the bronze bowl to reduce the noise and smell. Records have it that the palace doctors took the toilet to check the urine and stool as means of assessing the king and queen’s physical condition.
- 27 - 19. Hyangwonjeong Pavilion
This is the back garden of Gyeongbokgung Palace. The shape of the pond, island, and pavilion is quite interesting. The pond is square, in the middle of which is a round island with a hexagonal pavilion on it. The square, round, and hexagon are a representation of the Oriental philosophy that the ‘sky is round, and the land is angular. The pavilion is named ‘Hyangwonjeong’, a word borrowed from a Chinese poem meaning ‘the further the scent of a lotus flower, the clearer the scent gets’.
King Gojong of the Late Joseon had this place built to take a stroll along the pond with his queen, or relaxed in the pavilion. Can you see the bridge that stretches from the southern part of the pond to the pavilion? The name of the bridge means to ‘get intoxicated by the scent’. The bridge was originally on the north side of the pond because King Gojong and his queen lived in a building on the north side of the pond.
However, the bridge was destroyed during the Korean War, and was rebuilt in the current location for the convenience of the visitors. Only the stone pieces of the bridge remain on the north side of the pond where the original bridge was located.
●Electric Light at Hyangwonjeong Pavilion
In 1887, the American inventor Thomas Edison wrote something like this in his diary, “Oh my! The incandescent light bulb that I have invented is lit up in a mysterious palace in the Orient. I must be dreaming!”
- 28 - Hyangwonjeong Pavilion was the first place in Korea that was lit up by electric bulbs. It was only seven years after Thomas Edison invented electric light. The Joseon government sent an official letter to Edison, and Edison sent one of its top technicians to this palace to install a generator and light bulbs. It was the largest generator in Asia at the time. The water necessary to run the generator came from the pond. The generator heat up the water, and all the fish in the pond went belly up. After seeing this, people at the palace thought it was an ominous sign. They couldn’t even sleep at night because of the noise from the generator. In any case, the electric light must have been very surprising and fearful to the people at the time.
- 29 - 20. Geoncheonggung Palace
This is was the residence of the last king of Joseon Gojong and his queen. The building looks more like a mansion of a noble family than a traditional palace building. The building gives a glimpse of the political relationship between the King, Queen Consort, and King’s father.
Most of the buildings in Gyeongbokgung Palace were burnt down during the Japanese Invasion of Korea in the mid-Joseon, and the palace remained in ruins for over 270 years. During that period, kings of Joseon lived in another palace. The one who rebuilt Gyeongbokgung Palace was none other than King Gojong’s father. As an influential regent leading political reform, the King’s father took a strong stance against various political parties, and tried to restore the constitutional order.
On the other hand, King Gojong was always politically overshadowed by his father. And his wife was a political rival to his father. Both his father and wife tried to protect the faith of Joseon, but with different means. To protect Joseon from foreign powers, King Gojong’s father chose closed-door policy. By contrast, his wife chose pro-Russia policy to hold the Japanese in check. The King sided with his wife. So after 10 years on the throne, King Gojong built this building and moved in. It was a gesture of saying that he will take control from then on as the King. Sadly, this turns into a place of tragedy. On October 7, 1895, a Japanese Government employee and a group of ronins broke into Gyeongbokgung Palace and assassinated Empress Myeongseong for opposing Japan’s intervention in the domestic affairs.
- 30 - 21.Jibokjae Area
The name of this building is ‘Jibokjae’, which literally means ‘the treasure house’ in Korean. It served as King Gojong’s private library and office, so the treasures refer to the books stored in the building. King Gojong dreamed of national prosperity and military power, and tried to modernize Joseon because he thought modernization was the key to realizing his dreams. So he collected more than 40,000 books on Western science and machine civilization and stored them here. The brick walls and dragons on the ceiling are something that can’t be found in other buildings. Overall, it was built in a Chinese style, which is very unusual. When seen from the outside, it looks like a single-story building, but it’s actually a two-story building with an attic.
22. Sinmumun Gate
This is Sinmumun Gate, the north gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace. According to the concepts of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, the north symbolizes winter, death, and strong yin energy. Therefore, the north gate is always locked.It was to prevent yin energy from the north from entering and doing harm to the palace. There were some occasions when the north gate was open. It was when the King had to pray for rain through a ritual or go to the archery site on the northern side of the palace. Otherwise, the gate remains shut. After the fall of Joseon, the gate remained locked for other reasons. It was closed and locked for security reasons because it’s very close to the front gate of the Presidential Residence of Cheongwadae, or the Blue House. Today, the gate is open to the public. When you pass through this gate, Bukaksan Mountain and the gate of the Korean Presidential Residence will come into view. There is a ‘sarangchae’, or a detached house in Korean, at the Fountain Intersection, but it’s actually a museum of Korean culture and lounge for visitors.
- 31 - 23. Janggo
This area surrounded by low walls was a warehouse of sauce jars. It’s where various sauces for the royal family were kept in the past. A majority of Korean dishes are cooked with fermented sauces such as soy sauce, soybean paste, and red pepper paste. These sauces were very important to the people of Joseon. So they were made only on a given day. The women making the sauces were required to take a bath and cover their mouth with Korean paper before they start making the sauces. Why the Korean paper? It was not only to prevent saliva from dropping and mixing with the sauces, but because people believed that the yin energy from females can affect the taste of the sauces. In many aspects, the sauce making was more like a solemn ritual with many strict rules.
Did you see the red peppers and charcoals tied to a straw rope? The red peppers were the main ingredient of the sauce, and the charcoals are put into the jar with the sauce to help fermentation of the sauce. People used to hang a straw rope with red peppers and charcoals in front of their gate to fend off evil spirits as well. During the time of Joseon, Korean people had the tradition of hanging such rope in front of their house right after a woman gives a birth to a child.
● Joseon Jars
These round jars are called ‘hangari’ in Korean. They’re primarily used to store a sauce. They’re breathable containers, since they’re made of baked clay, which has microscopic holes for the air to go in and out. This way, the sauce in the jar tastes the same for a long period of time, and the microscopic holes help
- 32 - fermentation of sauces. In addition to sauces, kimchi, wine, and other types of fermented food are stored in a jar like this. However, the size can differ according to the food item, and the shape is also slightly different according to the region.
- 33 - 24. Taewonjeon Hall
Taewonjeon Hall is where portraits of the kings are housed. In addition to this, the King or Queen Consort’s corpse is also kept in this place during the state funeral.
When the King dies, one of the palace officials would take the King’s clothes to the roof. He would then grab the collar with his left hand and the waist section with his right hand, and shout to the north: “Come back please! Come back please! Come back please!” It was a ritual designed to tell the King’s soul to come back after recognizing his clothes. The corpse would be dressed in a new set of clothes, and laid on a bed filled with ice. The royal family members and high ranking government officials would attend the funeral every morning and evening, and cried six times a week. The attendees are not allowed to eat for three days. After three days, another ritual takes place, which is to put on a new set of clothes on the corpse. It wasn’t until the fifth day after the death of the King that the corpse’s face was covered with a handkerchief, dressed in a new set of clothes again, and then tied with a rope. At last, they say farewell to the king.
On the day the body is placed in the coffin, the Crown Prince is enthroned. The enthronement ceremony was held in a quiet and solemn mood since it always took place during the funeral.
- 34 - 25. Sojubang
This is the royal kitchen where food for the King and royal family members were prepared. Many court ladies worked here from early in the morning to late at night to serve food to the royal family.
The kitchen is divided into three sections. The first one is for cooking food for the King, the second one was for preparing food for banquets and ancestral rites, and the third one was in charge of making snacks and drinks such as rice cake and cookies for the King.
Sojubang was the background of a popular Korean TV drama titled ‘Daejanggeum’, or ‘Jewel in the Palace’. If you have seen the TV drama, imagine the scenes from the drama where a mountain of food ingredients offered to the King from all parts of the country were prepared and cooked from very early in the morning.
There were many Sojubangs in the grounds of Gyeongbokgung Palace. It’s because royal family rarely dined together, and their meals had to be prepared separately in a different kitchen.
The kings of Joseon ate five times a day. They had a full meal twice a day, and light snacks three times a day so that they wouldn’t feel hungry after working so hard.
- 35 - 26. Upon Exiting Gyeongbokgung Palace
Did you enjoy the tour? As you have seen, Gyeongbokgung Palace is the history of Joseon in itself. It represents the founding philosophy of Joseon, and it also witnessed the history of humiliation and suffering that eventually led to the fall of the dynasty. With the history intact, the place is still being rebuilt through the restoration project. The scenery of Korean palaces changes by the season. So regardless of the season, we hope you had an enjoyable time appreciating the style and elegance of Korean traditional architecture, which are built to be in harmony with the backdrop of the mountain. The word ‘Gyeongbok’ means ‘good fortune’ in Korean. Now that you have visited a place of good fortune, we wish you all to have good fortune.
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