visitseoul.net

(Seoul Guided Walking Tour)
(with a cultural tourism commentator)
(Changgyeonggung Palace)
Hello, thank you for requesting a Seoul Guided Walking Tour
of the Changgyeonggung Palace course
I'm Ji Hye-yeong, Seoul's cultural tourism commentator
for today's Changgyeonggung Palace tour
Hello, I'm Han Mi-yeon and I'm from Hong Kong
- Nice to meet you
- Nice to meet you
Changgyeonggung Palace is one with nature
and it's a cute, petite palace
Have you visited Changgyeonggung Palace before, Mi-yeon?
I've been curious about it but I've never visited it
So I applied for this tour so that I can
learn about Changgyeonggung Palace with you today
Oh, I see. Then shall we head inside the Changgyeonggung Palace?
(Honghwamun Gate)
The Changgyeonggung Palace was built in 1483 in the location of
the old Sookanggung Palace so that King Seongjong
can look after Queen Jeonghee,
Queen Sohye, his mother,
and his aunt Queen Ansoon
But ma'am, it has a similar name to Changdeokgung Palace,
which is also near here
Yes, that's right. Changdeokgung Palace and Changgyeonggung Palace were called the East
Palace
If you look at old maps of East Palaces,
Changdeokgung Palace and Changgyeonggung Palace was used
as one palace, without any distinctions
Changgyeonggung Palace was pratically burnt down due to the Imjin War
and was rebuilt in 1616 by Gwanghaegun
(Lee Gwal, a general in Joseon Dynasty led a rebellion in 1624)
But due to The Rebellion of Lee Gwal, buildings inside and east of the palace
(It occupied Hanyang for a while,)
were practically destroyed by the fire
(but internal disruption of rebel forces and counterattacks of armies led to a failure)
and it was restored during the reign of King Injo
- So Changgyeonggung Palace holds the painful history of the Imjin War
- Yes, that's right
It's so fascinating to see it all restored like this
The gate you see behind me is Changgyeonggung Palace's main gate, Honghwamun
The world "Honghwa" means expanding the harmony of nature
This place was also where the king came out to communicate with the people
Mi-yeon, let's head inside now to learn more about Changgyeonggung Palace
(Okcheongyo)
This bridge is called Okcheongyo
It means "the flow of crystal clear water like jades"
It's a beautiful bridge that is over 550 years old
Shall we cross this bridge and head to the biggest building, the Myeongjeongjeon?
(Myeongjeongjeon)
Myeongjeongjeon is the biggest building in Changgyeonggung Palace
and it's also the place where official events
of the royal family such as
the crown prince's coronation or royal festivities are held
Founded by King Seongjong in 1484,
it was burnt down due to the Imjin War
It was rebuilt in 1616 by King Gwanghaegun,
and it has been maintaining its structure until today
It's the oldest building of a palace to exist today
But Changgyeonggung Palace's Myeongjeongjeon
doesn't seem as big as other places
Yes, Mi-yeon. You have a keen sense of observation
Changgyeonggung Palace was built in 1484 so that King Seongjong
can take care of his grandmother Queen Jeonghee, his mother Queen Sohye,
and his aunt Queen Ansoon
It was built as an area for elders,
so it's smaller than those of other palaces
Ma'am, I think I saw that drawing in other palaces too
That's right. That drawing is called "Ilwol Obongdo"
Ilwol Obongdo is always placed behind the king's throne
If you look at drawings of festivals that the king attended,
it serves as an important representative of the king
The drawing also includes praises
of the king and hopes of infinite development
The sun represents the king
and the moon represents the queen
The five mountaintops
represents the five bearings
North, East, South, West, and the center
So those are the five bearings
The wave that you see there represents the hope of the widespread
of the king's grace
Shall we head to the next location?
(Munjeongjeon)
Munjeongjeon is a room in the palace where the king works
Despite its purpose, it's also where ancestral rites are held
after a national funeral in which
information is written about those that passed away
An area of the Munjeongjeon was demolished during the period of Japanese Colonialism
and it was restored in 1986
Moreover, this place is where the Iimo Incident took place in 1762
What is the Iimo Incident?
Iimo Incident is about how King Yeongjo dethroned his son
of becoming crown prince
(Dwiju : A wooden chest to store rice and grains)
and locked him in a Dwiju, causing him to die
Being locked in a Dwiju, the prince endured 8 days
of heat and hunger near the Seoninmun,
and he died at the young age of 28
So in the coming days, King Yeongjo gave the prince
a posthumous name, called "Sa" for thinking
and "Do" for grief
It's horrible to think that he killed his own son
Yes, since this isn't an ordinary incident,
a lot of movies and TV series were made based on Prince Sado
You should check them out when you have time
Shall we head to the next location?
(Gyeongchunjeon)
Gyeongchunjeon you see over there
means "Spring with warm sunlight"
It's the bedroom made for King Seongjong's mother, Queen Sohye
This is where King Jeongjo and King Heonjong were born
Since Queen Inhyeon, Queen Sohye, and Crown Princess Hong
all lived here until their death,
this place wasn't just used by queen dowagers
It was also used by queens and crown princesses
Before King Jeongjo was born, Prince Sado
allegedly dreamt of a dragon, hence the dragon drawing on the walls
In order to celebrate his own birthday,
he wrote and hung a signboard called "Tansaengjeon"
The Hwangyeongjeon behind us
has a meaning of "Happiness and joy"
In 1544, King Jungjong passed away in here
Do you know the name of the female doctor who treated and took care of King Jungjong?
If it's a female doctor of Joseon, is it Daejanggeum?
That's right. It's Daejanggeum
Mi-yeon, you know a lot about Korea's history and culture
Also, Crown Prince Sohyeon was taken away to Qing Dynasty as a hostage
during the reign of King Injo,
and when he returned, he met his sudden death here
King Yeongjo also called his servants here
to meet up and take care of national affairs
Shall we head to the next location, the Tongmyeongjeon?
(Tongmyeongjeon)
This is the best building of the palace
and also the queen's residence
It means Yin and Yang, and a bright light shining in the sky
Ma'am, this roof looks a little different, doesn't it?
Yes, it does. Roofs without ridges is called the Muryanggak roof
Muryanggak roof buildings represent the bedrooms of the king and queen
Gyeongbokgung Palace's Gyotaejeon or Changdeokgung Palace's Daejojeon
also has the Muryanggak roof
Plus, behind Tongmyeongjeon, there is a spring called "Yeolcheon"
King Yeongjo gave that name because
the water is so cold and clear, making his teeth hurt
This place is where the famous story of Jang Huibin takes place
What story is that? I'm so curious!
It's the complicated love story of
Jang Huibin, King Sukjong, and Queen Inhyeon
A lot of movies and TV series were made based on this story
Huibin becomes the queen herself, taking it from the previous queen
(Gabsul Hwanguk : During King Sukjong's reign, the ruling class of Southerners)
Then, due to Gabsul Hwanguk,
(purged Westerners on charge of plotting to reinstate)
Queen Inhyeon was reinstated
(deposed Queen Inhyeon backfired)
Jang Huibin got demoted to Huibin
So, Huibin made a shrine in her residence Chiseondang
and cursed Queen Inhyeon
She also buried wicked items around Tongmyeongjeon
When this act was found out, Huibin was ordered to death by drinking poison
and King Sukjong made a policy so that concubines aren't promoted to be the queen
Shall we head to the next location?
(Yeongchunheon)
The place I'm standing in is Yeongchunheon and Jipbokheon
Yeongchunheon and Jipbokheon were where concubines lived in
It's the only place that's intact (among living areas of concubines in Changgyeonggung
Palace)
The seal engravings look a bit different than others
King Jeongjo used Yeongchunheon as a library and an office,
so he stayed there for a long time
In that place, he passed away in year 1800
In Jipbokheon, Prince Sado(Jeongjo's father) and King Sunjo were born
At age 42, King Yeongjo called his servants over to this place
and showed off his son,
who was very precious to him
But that son is the one who died in the Dwiju, Prince Sado
Shall we head to the next location, the Jagyeongjeon Site?
(Jagyeongjeon Site)
The place where you can see the entire scenery of Changgyeonggung Palace
is Jagyeongjeon, which means "The mother of the king enjoys big fortune"
Jagyeongjeon was built for King Jeongjo's mother, Crown Princess Hong
This is where Crown Princess Hong wrote the
In year 1800, after King Jeongjo passed away,
Crown Princess Hong passed this place down to Queen Hyoui
and returned to Gyeongchunjeon, and passed away there
Queen Hyoui passed away here
In 1911, the Japanese Empire built a Japanese-style building here
(Yiwangga Museum : In 1909, in Myeongjeongjeon of Changgyeonggung Palace,)
and made the Yiwangga Museum
(this was built along with a botanical garden and a zoo)
It was demolished in 1992
(Starting from November 1st, it was open to the public)
Now, this place remains vacant
Shall we head to the last location, the Chundangji?
(Chundangji)
Ma'am, the pond here is so big and pretty
I love how the autumn leaves reflect on the water
Yes, that's right. This place is very beautiful
but it also holds a painful history of our nation
A long time ago, Chundangji had 11 plots of rice paddies
Since farming was the basis of economy during the Joseon Dynasty,
the king would come here himself and demonstrate farming techniques,
and also look out for the public's safety
In 1909, the Japanese Empire made an amusement park
including a zoo and botanical garden to console King Sunjong
And in this place, they filled it with water to make a pond
and set a a pleasure boat afloat
In 1911, the Japanese Empire
degraded our Changgyeonggung Palace of 500 years
to amusement park Changgyeongwon, famous for fireworks
However, in 1983, it regained the name of Changgyeonggung Palace,
and after 3 years of restoration,
this place is being restored to its old structure of the old Changgyeonggung Palace
As I listen to your words,
this beautiful scenery of autumn leaves feel somewhat sad
That's right. This Changgyeonggung Palace is a small, petite palace,
but it also holds the painful history of Korea
As I talked with Mi-yeon about various things,
it's now time to wrap up the commentary of Changgyeonggung Palace
How was Changgyeonggung Palace that you saw with me?
Yes, I'm really disappointed that it's already over
Honestly, I thought Changgyeonggung Palace just had cute palaces
But thanks to you,
I was able to learn about the painful history of Korea left in here
Oh, I see. I feel rewarded as a commentator of history
I also had a great time with you today, Mi-yeon
Other than Changgyeonggung Palace, there are various
other Seoul Guided Walking Tours in Seoul
(dobo.visitseoul.net)
If you search Seoul Guided Walking Tour online,
you can read explanations about other courses
and directions on making reservations
Seoul's cultural tourism commentators are waiting for you
to tell fun stories hidden in various parts of Seoul,
so please visit us frequently. Thank you
(Seoul Guided Walking Tour)
(with a cultural tourism commentator)
(Changgyeonggung Palace)