Changdeokgung with Woosik

Today I went with Woosik to visit Changdeokgung Palace downtown Seoul. We took the guided tour of both the palace as well as the gardens in the back of the palace grounds.


Changdeokgung is considered the most intact palace in Korea. It was built in the 1400's as a second palace to Gyeonbukgung. In the late 1500's, most of the palace was destroyed by the Japanese during the war. It was the first palace to be rebuilt following the war, becoming the main residence of the kings of Joseon after the 1600's. When Japan occupied Korea, many of the buildings from Gyeonbukgung were moved to Changdeokgung to make way for Japanese officials buildings. Many of the original buildings on the grounds were also destroyed, only about 30% remains. The last king of Joseon lived here in a special area built by the Japanese for the remaining Joseon royalty until his death in the early 20th century. It was also home to his queen and children until around 1970 when the last direct descendant passed away. Today, the palace is a good representation of Joseon architecture as well as the unique aspects of Joseon royalty.


In the back of the palace grounds lies the gardens, often called the "Secret Garden." It has been preserved from the Joseon dynasty and displays Korean traditional gardens. The original landscape of the area was maintained when the garden was built because it was believed that it maintained harmony. The gardens make up the majority of the palace complex, about 70% of the 110 acres.

The palace compound consists of three main areas: The officials compound where government mandates were created, the royal family's quarters where traditionally the King and Queen lived and worked, and the area built for the remaining royal family after the occupation. A few interesting things I learned while touring around the palace grounds:


1. The building where the King lived is covered in blue tile because blue is considered the color of the ruler. Today, the president of South Korea lives in a mansion located near this palace called the Blue House.


2. All of the officials and royalty's buildings are painted with the traditional blue, green, red, white, and yellow that represent north, south, east, west, and power. Only buildings associated with the royalty or religion (Buddhist temples) could use this color combination. The home where the royal family lived during and after the occupation are not painted in these colors, but rather designed like the commoners house with plain white walls.

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3. After the occupation, the descendants of the royal family continued to live here. Because of the political unrest and poverty of the country after the Korean War, they did not receive any money from the government. In order to survive, the former Queen and her daughter, the woman that would have succeeded the throne, worked with the tourism portion of the palace, leading tours of their ancestors home.

This palace is such a contrast from Gyeonbukgung. Gyeonbukgung is a huge complex with so many officials buildings and several compounds for the royal family to live in. Changdeokgung feels like a palace in the countryside. It is very peaceful, you cannot hear the sounds of the city even though you are in the business area of the city. You can really picture what life must have been like for the Joseon royalty walking around this palace.