The Gyeongbokgung Palace
Next on our palace tour is the
Gyeongbokgung Palace and the earlier National Palace Museum is situated
within the Gyeongbokgung in Sejong-ro. Its writings say:
It was in 1395, three years after the
Joseon Dynasty was founded by Yi Seong-gye, when the construction of the main
royal palace was completed. The palace
was named Gyeongbokgung, “the Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven”. With Mount Bugaksan to its rear and Mount
Namsan in the foreground…
Gyeongbokgung Palace has six gates
with Gwanghwamun as the main gate. Since
we came from the museum, we forewent the main gate and just entered the second
inner gate called the Heungnyemun and into the third inner gate or Geunjeongmun
Gate passing through Yeongjegyo Bridge.
 |
| Gwanghwamun Gate as seen from Heungnyemun Gate |
The first building we visited is the Geunjeongjeon
Hall, throne hall where the king formally granted audiences to his
officials, gave declarations of national importance, and greeted foreign envoys
and ambassadors.
Then the king's main residing quarters called Gangnyeongjeon Hall.
And the main residing quarters by the
queen or Gyotaejeon Hall.
We also passed by Jagyeongjeon Hall, the
main residing quarters of King’s mother.
And finally the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion,
used to hold important and special state banquets. It is presently situated in an island of an
artificial rectangular lake.
What is noticeably present in all of
the structure is the adornment of floral designs – from the ceilings to walls
and the intricate roof designs. It
showcased meticulous handworks that represents majesty and the authority of the
throne.
We exited through the main gate, the Gwanghwamun
and it was timely for the royal guards changing ceremony. The kids had fun watching the colorful flags
and they were curious what it signifies.
If only I delved into history, maybe I can enlighten what it meant for…
Map of Gyeongbokgung Palace:
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Travel Date: February 2014
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