The Palaces of Seoul: Changdeokgung

Changdeokgung is located in the Jongno District which was, in itself, a pleasant walk with its nice cozy bookstores and tiny green nurseries. Jongno is one of the oldest cities of central Seoul and is now an important financial and cultural center. It boasts many major attractions and landmarks, such as Bukchon Hanok Village, the Blue House, as well as other palaces, museums and mountains. The area is also also home to major governments and corporation's headquarters.
Changdeokgung is the second palace I visited in Seoul.

A few facts

Changdeokgung, also known as Donggwol (the Eastern Palace), is the best preserved of the Five Grand Palaces that were built by the kings of the Joseon Dynasty.

King Taejong, the third king of the Joseon Dynasty, ordered its construction in 1405. It became the principal palace for many kings of this dynasty starting with King Seongjong, the ninth king. It was burned down by angry citizens in 1592, when the royal family fled the Japanese invasion, and was subsequently restored in 1611 under Gwanghaegun (or Prince Ganghae), who reigned from 1608 to 1623 as the fifteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty.

With its 270 years housing the Joseon government and its kings, Changdeokgung Palace is the longest-serving royal residential palace.

However, its status as a national symbol meant that it suffered deliberate damage by the Japanese during their occupation of Korea - which started in 1895 with the signature of the Treaty of Ganghwa. The palace remained neglected until its restoration in 1991.

The palace complex stands between Mount Bugaksan and Geumcheon Stream. This follows the  "baesanimsu" principle to the effect that the ideal house has a mountain rising at its back and a river running before it.

This palace's architecture is different from other palaces in the extreme care that has been put into integrating the structures to the surrounding landscape, instead of extensively modifying the terrain to accomodate the constructions. Nestled at the foot of a mountain, it embraces it's surrounding topography in accordance with pungsu principles; the palace structures lay south and a garden grows north of the complex.

One last general fact: In 1997, it was finally included in the UNESCO Heritage sites list during the committee meeting in Napoli, Italy. Access the UNESCO listing by clicking here.


The Buildings

Palace construction in Korea involves the unique combination of public and private quarters, which is known as the Jeonjo-Huchim layout principle. Buildings used for official matters were located at the front of the complex, while buildings for personal use by the royals and the court members were located at the back.

Furthermore, under another layout principle, Sammun-Samjo, the palace was divided in three different zones: the Oejo for administrative tasks, the Chijo for political affairs between the king and his subjects and the Yeonjo as the private area for the king and the queen.

The tight and rather chaotic configuration of buildings here seems to transform the complex into a maze. Like Deoksugung, the buildings are made out of wood and built on stone platforms. The roofs have ornamental carvings.

The main entrance of the palace, Donhwamun, is the oldest remaining palace entrance in Korea today. During the Joseon Dynasty, a large bell and drum housed on the second story of the gate were used to announce the time. This was primarily done as a service to the people, but the timekeeping and daily closing of the gates also played a safety role.

Another thing to pay close attention to is the Geumcheongyo bridge, the stone bridge crossing the Myenongdangsy Stream which flows between the Donhwamun and the Jinseonmun gates. This stone bridge is the oldest of its kind that remains in Seoul. It is decorated with a variety of designs and sculpture, each of which represents a patron spirit that protects the palace and prevents evil from entering through the bridge.

Then, if you look at Jojeong court, you will see a path running down the center with gravestone-like markers on both side. These stones were called "Pumgyeseok" and served to indicate the ranks of court officials. When there was a large event or ceremony, they allowed envoys to line up according to their rank. The higher the rank, the closer they were to the king. Civil servants lined up east while military officers lined up west. This court is where major national events were held.

Past Jojeong you will see Injeongjeon. The stairs leading up the stone terrace are divided in three paths. Laying across the middle stairs is a stone tablet on which are carved two phoenix. This marks the path reserved for the king. 

Do pay special attention to the unusual flower ornamentation of the highest horizontal ridge in the middle of the roof inside Injeongjeon. These 5 plum flowers are a particularity to be seen in none of the main halls of other palaces. While Emperor Gojong, the twenty-sixth king of the Joseon Dynasty and the first emperor of Korea, adopted the plum flower as the crest of the imperial family, the flowers you will see are not those of the Emperor's crest. Rather, they represent the imperial family of Japan. It is believed that these flowers were added in 1907 by the Japanese to disgrace the royal family headed by Emperor Sunjong, the second and final emperor of Korea.

Inside Injeongjeon, you can also notice some Western-style modernizations (i.e. glass windows, curtains and electric lights) that took place during the Great Korean Empire, the state of Korea that existed from its proclamation in October 1897 to the annexation of Korea by Japan on August 20, 1910.

Another building of interest is Seongjeongjeon, where the king resided and handled official matters. When you look at this building, you will notice that the color of the roof tiles is different from that of the other buildings. That's because these specific tiles were imported from China and their luxury contrasted with traditional palaces construction.

Then, we have:

Daejojeon - the queen's residence.
Nakseonjae - the study of King Heonjong. the 24th king of Joseon. It is now located at Changdeokgung Palace, but originally belonged to Changgyeonggung Palace, which lies across from the palace wall.
Seokbokheon - the residence of Gyeongbin Gimssi (King Heonjong's royal concubine). The king had it built as a place where he could spend time with the woman he loved, but couldn't marry.
Segangjae - the residence of Queen Sunwonwanghu, the queen of King Sunjo, the twenty-third king of Joseon. 

The Rear Garden

Huwon. Biwon. The Secret Garden. The Forbidden Garden. All names given to the rear garden, which was used by the royal family to enjoy peace and quiet. It is considered an excellent example of Korean's garden design and is the only rear garden of any Korean palace. In this area, nature was left pretty much alone and human intervention was relatively rare.

As you walk the paths of the garden, you will see the Yeonghwadang Hall where the civil service exam was held, the Juhapru Pavilion with the king's library on ground level and a reading room at the upper floor, and the Eosumun Gate that consists of a large door for use by the king flanked by two smaller doors for use by his subjects.

Further in the garden, stands Geummamun where 19 years old Hyomyung Seja (Crown Prince of King Sunjo) worked to develop government initiatives. He was regent from age 19 until his death at the young age of 21, before he could be made king. Despite his brief regency, he is credited with great achievements in the political, academic and artistic fields.

Further on, lays Aeryonji Pond, constructed by King Sukjong. West from there, Yeongyeongdan, where the aristocratic class lived. Across Aeryonji Pond rests a smaller pond with two structures in its center: Gwannamjeong, with is unusual fan shape, and Jondeokjeong, with its multi-tiered roof. These two structures warranted Changeokgung Palace the name of "museum of ancient roof".

At the heart of the garden flows Okrycheon Stream and stands pavilions such as Cheonguijeong, Soyojeong, Taegeukjeong and Nongsanjeong. The c-shaped waterway dug in the rock between Cheonguijeong and Taegeukjeong was designed to change the direction of the water in front of Soyojeong. It was created as a waterway down which to float liquor glass to the king. This was known as "goksuyeon", or the banquet of poems and water.

As I made my way out of the garden. I couldn't not notice a magnificent juniper. This large tree, that requires artificial support, measures 12 meters in height and 5.9 meters in circumference. It is thought to be over 750 years old and is known as the Changdeokgung Chinese Juniper, one of the oldest tree in South Korea. It's massive branches are twisted in a way to reminded me of mangled wool strands.

 (A very quick sketch of the juniper)

I was lucky, when I visited the palace in May 2014, they had just started allowing self-guided tour of the garden.


Final Words

I have read many a traveler complaining about the underwhelming effect of the palaces of Seoul, when comparing them to Japanese structures. However, for me, there is no doubt that Changdeokgung - as an historical site - represents well the beauty of South Korea. Comparing Korean structures to Japanese ones hardly seems fair and doesn't really recognize Korea's uniqueness.

Obviously, and despite the amount of details I tried to provide today, I didn't cover everything. This could very well be one of those sites that warrants a guided tour.

You can get to Changdeokgung by alighting at Anguk Station (line 3) and taking Exit 3. From there, it is a 5 minutes walk. You can also get to Jongno 3-ga Station (lines 1, 3 or 5) and take Exit 6. From there it is a 10 minutes walk.