Gyeongbokgung Palace

If you are making a visit to Seoul you won’t want to miss Gyeongbokgung Palace. Currently, it’s ranked as the 2nd top thing to do in Seoul on Trip Advisor – after the War Memorial. The palace is stunning year-round with pale pink cherry blossoms in bloom in the spring, a nice green landscape in the summer, shades of red and yellow leaves in abundance in autumn, and, if you’re lucky, you may catch a snowfall in the winter.

Even if you don’t, you’re likely to see some remnants of fall, and may see the ponds frozen over which offers some beauty as well. As a historical palace situated in the modern city with mountains in sight, this attraction gives you a good Seoul experience.

We Wanted To See The Palace With Snow

Strangely, this was one of the last things we did during our stay in Korea. Towards the end, we kept delaying it because we were hoping to catch it during, or right after a snowfall. Our last snowfall was in early December so by the end of December we decided we would just go and made it a nice New Year’s outing.

I would note a couple things when making a visit: One being that you will want to be sure to set aside at least half a day for a visit as the grounds are also home to two museums (The National Palace Museum of Korea and the National Folk Museum) and the other is to note that the palace is closed on Tuesdays. It’s kind of a random day and you wouldn’t want to plan a day there only to arrive and find it closed.

Travel to Gyeongbokgung Palace

We began by taking the metro to Gyeongbokgung station. This metro station is somewhat interesting. It features a wall of mirrors. We stopped for a minute to take pictures. The Koreans have a pretty big selfie / taking photos culture too which is good for tourists in that you can’t embarrass yourself too much.

Arriving To The Palace

Upon arrival to the palace, we were more than impressed. While we had found Changdeokgung Palace to be grand and have a beautiful charm to it, I think it was good we went there first because Gyeongbokgung exemplified these features further. Of the 5 Grand Palaces, Gyeongbokgung is the largest. I would still recommend going to both if you have time.

Tours Are Offered

Instead of taking a tour like we did at Changdeokgung, we decided to self-explore. The tour would not be any additional cost to the cost of the ticket, which for an international adult is 3,000 won (currently ~$2.50) but I think timing may have been off for us.

For reference, English tours are at 11:00am, 1:30pm, and 3:30pm and tours are also available in Japanese and Chinese at different times.

While you are likely to learn more from the tour, there is some information about the palace, it’s history, and information about the some of buildings around the grounds.

Of Course The Palace Was Destroyed

Throughout Korea, you will likely hear and read a lot about how many historical relics were destroyed by the Japanese. And then rebuilt – and then destroyed by the Japanese – and then rebuilt. And so on. At least we did, and Gyeongbokgung Palace was no exception.

It was first built in 1395 during the Joseon dynasty. During this time, Gyeongbokgung was the primary palace, home of the kings of this time period and the government. The first great destruction here by the Japanese occurred in 1592.

The palace was rebuilt in the 1865 during the reign of King Gojong and was used for royal and government purposes again. In 1915, just a few years after the Japanese took over the land, the majority of the buildings were destroyed again. Further (accurate) reconstructions have been made since 1990.

Here is a breakdown of some of the buildings / structures:

Heungnyemun gate

Once you pass through the main gate (Gwanghwamun gate), you will find a large courtyard area with Heungnyemun gate at the end. This beautiful piece was rebuilt recently (in 2001).

Gyeonghoeru – Kyeonghoe-ru – Pavilion

Korea’s National Treasure #224, the name means “joyous meeting.” The largest pavilion in South Korea, this was once the King’s living quarters and was also a location where he would entertain others with feasts. The current construction of this building dates back to 1867.

Jibokjae Hall

King Jogong used this building as a private library. The style of the architecture shows some Chinese influence. Jibokjae was originally built on the Changdeokgung Palace grounds but was moved by Kong Jongon to Gyeongbokgung.

Hyangwonjeong Pavilion

The pavilion sits on an man-made island on Hyangwonji Lake/lotus pond with a bridge connecting it to the grounds. It was built in 1853 and the bridge was rebuilt in 1953 and is a popular subject of art and photography in Korea.

Geunjeongjeon Hall

The throne hall is National Treasure No. 223 and is Korea’s largest surviving wooden structure.

Other structures include:

• Gangnyeongjeon Hall (the king’s sleeping quarters)
• Gyotaejeon Hall (the queen’s living quarters during the Joseon dynasty)
• Jagyeongjeon Hall (once occupied by Queen Sinjeong)
• Sajeongjeon (office building for the king)
• Taewonjeon Shrine
• and a few more.

During our time there, we noticed many Koreans walking around in traditional dress, often with selfie sticks. It was an entertaining sight to see these people walking around this historical place, dressed in traditional wear, taking selfies of themselves with their iPhones and setting up tripods and cameras.

Other Notables

Aside from everything else, you may get a chance to see a guard changing ceremony at the primary entrance. There are also two museums here:

• The National Folk Museum
• National Palace Museum of Korea

Both museums come included with the price of your ticket into Gyeongbokgung Palace. Each offers well curated and elaborate exhibits. The National Palace Museum of Korea has the royal Portraits of all the past emperors and kings.

Altogether, the palace is a worthwhile attraction which showcases some of Seoul’s beauty and history.

~B~