Changdeokgung Palace

In (Seoul) Korea, there are five grand palaces: Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung, Changgyeonggung, and Gyeonghuigung (yes, quite a mouthful). Because they are not far from one another, I had originally planned for us to do Gyeongbokgung (the main palace) and Changdeokgung in the same day but then changed my mind and decided we would do them separately because we wanted to do the Secret Garden Tour at Changdeokgung and be sure to visit the museums within Gyeongbokgung.

We had still not visited Gyeongbokgung Palace, which is partly because I very much wanted to see it covered in snow. It has been a little bit since the last one and I don’t see one in the forecast for the rest of the time we are here so we will probably just go soon anyway.

Metro to Changdeokgung

We took the metro to Jogno 3(sam)-ga Station and began walking to Changdeokgung Palace. On our way over we saw a temple to our right and decide to head down and check it out.

Quick Detour to Mahabodhi Temple

According to the sign, the temple is called Mahabodhi Temple. There is a well-known temple by this same name in India, making it a little harder to research. We learned a little bit about it from a plaque outside, though:

It is really neat making little discoveries like this one while wandering around Korea. We would have liked to stay longer and explore a little but we weren’t sure if it was okay. We didn’t really see anyone else around.

Traditional Dress Stores

On our way there we also passed some stores selling Hanbok – traditional Korean dress. This type of attire used to be worn regularly up until the early 20th century and Koreans still wear Hanbok for special occasions. Sometimes we see someone on the metro dressed this way.

Arrival at the Gate

We continued on and finally made it to Changdeokgung Palace. The grand entrance made it pretty apparent that we had arrived.

We bought our tickets at a booth over to the right. We haven’t had to pay for most attractions here but thought this one was worth it. Changdeokgung Palace is a UNESCO world heritage site and carries a lot of Korean history.

To enter and explore it costs W3000 (~$2.50) per person and this includes a tour of the main grounds. There are tours in Korean, English, Chinese, and Japanese. The English tours are at 10:30am and 2:30pm. There is also something called the Huwon Secret Garden Tour which last about an hour and a half to two hours (and is also at different specific times, depending on language and time of year).

We had been debating it a bit, but after research opted to get that ticket as well (KRW5000= $4.25). This ticket can be booked in advance, and allegedly sometimes needs to be but we were able to just buy it there. Also to note: the palace, like many things in Korea, is closed on Mondays. Maps were available upon entering which was nice.

Ancient Buildings

Changdeokgung Palace was used during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Built first in 1405, this is where the royal family lived and discussed state/political issues. Like the other palaces in Seoul (and many other things in Korea), it was burnt down in a Japanese invasion (1592). It was rebuilt in 1610 and continued to be used for similar purposes.

We only had a little time to explore this are before our Secret Garden Tour which we did not want to miss so headed over. On the beginning of a tour we came across a Palace cat (aka a stray)!

Definitely Do the Secret Garden Tour

Even though I had looked up some information about it and it was winter (though not quite technically since that is not until a few weeks into December), I sort of expected the Secret Garden Tour to involve flowers. Just to clear that up for others as well, there were not really flowers. We saw some remnants of the beauty it bestows in the fall, though.

We also realized how much of the palace grounds we would have missed out on if we did not do the tour (over half). It is also pretty spread out.

 

Aside from the history of the palace and the uses for different areas, we also learned about other things relevant to us, like the origin of the Ondol (which we may discuss in a later article). We learned where the king liked to read and things like that and imagined what it would be like to live/work/leisure on these grounds.   It was all very pretty. I especially liked the pond areas.

Historical Trees to End the Tour

At the end of the tour we came across a tree called Daraenamu Tree. It is estimated to be around 600 or 700 years old. It was likely there before the palace was built and is protected as a National Natural Monument.

After we were done with the tour we explored the areas of the grounds not within the tour which we hadn’t gotten to yet.

We saw a couple groups of young women in Hanbok walking around and taking pictures of each other.

We enjoyed looking at the art and architecture, exploring the grounds, and learning about the history of the palace and Korea in general.

Overall, this is something we would recommend doing in Korea. When we left we saw a man selling roasted chestnuts right outside which I thought was a nice touch.

~B~