Gyeongbokgung
I woke up my 1st morning in Korea and crawled onto the floor. That’s because my guesthouse in Seoul was very traditional. The mattress is right on the floor. It was a cute little room. The bathroom didn’t have a separate shower. I just pulled the shower curtain open, bisecting the bathroom. Then I just turned on the shower. Very efficient.
Seoul is extremely modern. But one thing made this Westerner uncomfortable. You can’t flush toilet paper. You deposit it in the wastebasket next to the toilet. On the 3rd day, I had to request that the basket be emptied. You don’t always get full service when you don’t stay in a hotel.
I mentioned previously that Taipei was a little smaller than I was expected. That certainly was the case when compared with massive Seoul. Maybe that’s why I have to split my 1st day in Seoul into 2 posts. But don’t worry. Each of the 2 posts has a very manageable number of pictures.
Seoul has 5 grand palaces that were built by the Joseon Dynasty. You can bet that I visited all 5 of them on my trip. I’m a completist if there ever was one. The grandest of Seoul’s 5 palaces is Gyeongbokgung. Conveniently, Gyeongbokgung is located about a 10-minute from my guesthouse.
Gwanghwamun
The Joseon Dynasty built Gyeongbokgung as its main palace in 1395, 3 years after the dynasty’s founding. It was destroyed during a Japanese invasion 200 years later. It wasn’t rebuilt until almost 300 years after that, in 1867. Most of it was destroyed again during the Japanese occupation of Korea in the early 20th century. It has been restored and reconstructed over the past few decades.
Gwanghwamun is the main gate to Gyeongbokgung. I had been very relieved to see it the night before when my non-English-speaking taxi driver was driving me to my guesthouse–or at least as close as he could get me to it. When I saw the very large gate, I knew that I was close to the guesthouse and everything would be fine.
Outer Court
How fun! It turned out my 1st day in Seoul coincided with the 1st day of the 2018 Royal Culture Festival. It was quite festive.
I could definitely see the influence of Chinese culture on Korea. The traditional architecture of Korea was extremely reminiscent of what I saw in China. And I noticed some similarities in the language. I can’t tell you what Gyeongbokgung means. But “gong” is Chinese for “palace”. In Korean, it’s “gung”. Certainly not a coincidence. Oh, and looking back to Gwanghwamun, the main gate, I couldn’t help but notice that “mun” is very similar to “men”, Chinese for “gate”, as in Tiananmen.
Although much smaller, Geunjeongjeon, the throne hall, immediately reminded me of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City. Geunjeongjeon is one of South Korea’s officially designated National Treasures.
Behind the throne is a screen depicting the red sun and the white moon in a blue sky over 5 peaks. I saw this motif quite a lot while touring around Seoul. The screen painted with this scene is a royal symbol of the Joseon king.
Inner Court
4 symbolically decorated chimneys stand in Amisan. (2 of them are pictured above.) Together, they are another of South Korea’s National Treasures.
Northern Pavilions
2 of the most beautiful structures in Gyeongbokgung are a couple 2-story pavilions located in the northernmost part of the complex.
Hyangwonjeong was closed for restoration while I was there so I didn’t get to enjoy it up close.
National Palace Museum of Korea
Gyeongbokgung is like the Forbidden City of Korea. And the National Palace Museum of Korea, located on the palace grounds, is Korea’s version of the National Palace Museum in Taipei. (Was it really only yesterday that I was there?)
The long-lasting Joseon Dynasty ended in 1897 when the last Joseon king proclaimed the Korean Empire, making himself the 1st emperor. Unlike the Joseon Dynasty, the Korean Empire was short-lived. 13 years later, the Korean Empire ended when the Japanese annexation of Korea began in 1910.
Well, this has all been a great introduction to the palace life of Korean kings and emperors. I spent the rest of my 1st day in Seoul exploring some interesting neighborhoods.
[Factual information is primarily gathered from Wikipedia, so you know it must be true.]
I enjoyed your photos and descriptions. I have a great affection for Asia and its history. Their porcelains from Joseon dynasty got high prices at auction. I know much less about Korea than China and Japan. Although I do know that when Hideyoshi and his army invaded Korea they discovered that they knew how to make porcelain and stole the potters and took them to Japan and that is how the Japanese learned to make porcelain in Kyushu. I have loved the Korean blanket chests bandaji, with the great metal work.
You know more about Korean than I do!