visitseoul.net

(Seoul Guided Walking Tour)
(with a cultural tourism interpreter)
(Deoksugung Palace)
Hello
Thank you for applying for the Seoul Guided Walking Tour's Deoksugung Palace course
I'm Seoul's cultural tourism interpreter, Chae Han-seok
Hello, I'm Han Mi-yeon from Hong Kong
- Nice to meet you
- Nice to meet you too
Welcome to Deoksugung Palace,
one of the 5 palaces in Seoul and the palace where the Emperor Gojong stayed in
Can you tell us more about Deoksugung Palace?
This is the palace where the Wolsandaegun,
grandson of King Sejo and elder brother of King Seongjong, stayed in
It appears in history right after the Imjin war(Japanese Invasion of Korea)
It's also the symbolic place of overcoming a national crisis in the late Joseon Dynasty era
Whoa, I've been to Deoksugung Palace often
but I've never had time to get to know about the history
Let's look around Deoksugung Palace with me
and find out the history as well as how it's different from other palaces
Shall we go in?
(Daehanmun Gate)
This gate is the main gate of Deoksugung Palace, Daehanmun Gate
(As of December of 2021)
Currently, Woldae* is under construction in front of the Daehanmun Gate
*Type of Stylobate
I'll first explain about the name of Daehanmun Gate
Do you know of the names of main gates of 5 palaces in Seoul?
I think it's a hard question
It is a hard question,
especially for a foreigner like you, Mi-yeon
The main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace is called Gwanghwamun
Donhwamun for Changdeokgung Palace
Honghwamun for Changgyeonggung Palace
and Heunghwamun for Gyeonghuigung Palace
If you think about them, they all have letter 'Hwa' in the middle
Why doesn't Deoksugung Palace's main gate name have 'Hwa' in the middle?
Deoksugung Palace also had a main gate in the south called Inhwamun
But when the Korean Empire was pronounced in 1897,
(Hwangudan: The altar where the emperor performed ancestral rites)
Hwangudan was constructed in the east
and Daeanmun Gate in the east was used as the main gate
This Daeanmun Gate's name later changed
to Daehanmun Gate
Shall we go to the next spot?
(Junghwamun Gate)
Let's learn about the central space of Deoksugung Palace now
The central space of each palace is called Jeongjeon
Jeongjeon of Deoksugung Palace is Junghwajeon
We're in front of Junghwamun Gate, the gate to Junghwajeon
If you see here, there is Dapdo
Dapdo? What's Dapdo?
Dapdo means the stairs where the King would pass by riding a litter(vehicle)
On Dapdo, a dragon is carved in
In other palaces, a phoenix is carved in
But since Deoksugung Palace was the palace of the emperor,
a dragon was carved in
When you look at the sides of Dapdo, an animal called Haechi is sculpted
Haechi is an animal that can distinguish good and evil
Haechi is also the character of Seoul
Shall we go in?
(Junghwajeon)
What was this yard used for?
This big yard here is called Jojeong
Shall we look at the color of the doors in the front?
It's yellow, right?
It's because this was built as an imperial palace
Jojeong was the central space of the country
where national rituals were performed, received envoys, and proclaimed laws
Let's have a look at the interior of Junghwajeon now
At the center of Junghwajeon,
there is the royal throne that the emperors sat on
while taking care of political affairs
And there is Samgokbyeong and Ilwol Obongdo behind it
There is a picture inside?
Samgokbyeong means the wooden folding screen
and in Ilwol Obongdo, there is
the sun, the moon, 5 mountains, red pine tree,
water, wave, and more
This symbolizes the emperor
as the center of the universe
Shall we look at the ceiling now?
There is a pair of dragons
It's painted in yellow
It represents the emperor
Shall we move to the next spot?
(Seokeodang)
Seokeodang
means the house where the king used to stay in
There is a second floor here, unlike other places
Right, this is the only 2-story building in Deoksugung Palace
King Seonjo stayed here after the Imjin War
and passed away in this place
This building was built
without any antefix or Dancheong
to never forget the tragedy of war
Buildings such as this is also called Baekgoljip
This building was actually burnt down when there was a big fire in Deoksugung Palace in 1904
The Emperor Gojong restored this building first
So this building has the most important symbolic meaning behind it
Shall we move on to the next spot?
(Hamnyeongjeon)
This is Hamnyeongjeon
It's the place where the Emperor Gojong slept in
This building was constructed in 1897,
the year that Emperor Gojong announced the Korean Empire
It's also the place where a big fire swept by in 1904
Because of the big fire, most of the buildings in Deoksugung Palace were burnt down
Emperor Gojong wasn't able to stay here
so he moved to Suokheon, the place that's called Jungmyeongjeon now
and carried out his work
In January of 1919,
Emperor Gojong passed away unexpectedly in this place
The unexpected news awakened the spirit for independence movement of the public
And it became the cause for the March 1st Independence Movement
Shall we move on to the next spot?
(Jeonggwanheon)
This is Jeonggwanheon
It means 'to look down quietly',
which means that it was a resting area
Emperor Gojong drank coffee here
and this place also worked as the pavilion
to give a party for diplomatic delegations
This place looks familiar to me
It's because Western style of architecture was used for this building
At about year 1900, a Russian named Sabatin built this building
He mixed the Western style along with the traditional style
Jeonggwanheon is the oldest building among the Western style buildings in Deoksugung Palace
It used different construction materials
Slate roofing tile was used for the roof
and the floor was finished with marbles
Also, Romanesque pillars are located in the 3 sides
with a balcony outside. Traditional pillars were used
for the pillars outside the balcony
When you look at the design, there are many that looks like a bat
Bat sounds like 'Luck' in Korean
so it was used to pray for fortunes
Shall we move to the next spot?
(Jeukjodang Hall, Junmyeongdang)
Jeukjodang there and Junmyeongdang here
are connected with a hall
These are the buildings that marked the beginning of Gyeongungung along with Seokeodang
Jeukjodang is the building where King Seonjo worked
after the Imjin War
and it's also the place where the Emperor Gojong
became the emperor after coming back from Russia
Back then, there is a record of a lot of diplomatic corps coming
(Juryeon: Words written vertically on pillars or walls)
and celebrating, called Juryeon
It would be nice to have a look
This is Junmyeongdang
Shall we have a look at the signboard?
The middle letter, Myeong, was originally written with 'Day' and 'Moon' together
but here, 'Eye' and 'Moon' were used together
It means to rule with eyes wide open to light up the country
- If that's the meaning, is this the place where the king worked?
- Yes, you're right
This is where the king worked
and greeted foreign envoys
Shall we move to the next spot?
(Seokjojeon)
This building is made of stones
Yes, that's right
It's called Seokjojeon because it's made with stones
When Emperor Gojong came back from the Russian legation,
he started mapping out
the construction of the Korean Empire
That's how this Seokjojeon was built
Unlike the other traditional Hanok buildings,
Jeongjeon and the Chimjeon (the Royal Bedchamber) were grouped together
There is a working space and a reception room on the first floor
and the living space such as a Chimjeon and a study on the second floor
When you look at the gable which is the highest part of this building,
there is a plum flower embossed that represents the Korean Empire
This plum flower is shown throughout the building
as well as on the household supplies
Inside here, the lifestyle of the Korean Empire was recreated identically
So if you head inside, you can see the lifestyle back then
Shall we move to the next spot?
(Dondeokjeon)
(Dondeokjeon is not part of the course but recommended to visit separately)
This is Dondeokjeon
As you can see, the restoration work is being carried out
Dondeokjeon is a 2-story building built in a Western style
It was the building that was used
for reception and hosting parties
It definitely looks different from Korean traditional palaces
After the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1905 was forcibly concluded in 1905,
Emperor Gojong wanted to notify the international community that this treaty was invalid
So, he sent a secret envoy to the international peace conference in Hague
Because of the secret envoy, Japan
abdicated the Emperor Gojong
and forced the prince to rule as a regent
But Japan accepted the abdication of the Emperor Gojong as a fact
Therefore, the Emperor Sunjong
acceded as the 2nd emperor of Korean Empire here
Then, he moved to Changdeokgung Palace
With that, our tour ends here
Time flew by, right?
Yes, I can't believe it's over already. Time flew by really quickly
I had a lot of fun today
It's a bummer, right?
After the tour at Deoksugung Palace,
(Next to the Habib House at the back gate of Deoksugung Palace)
try visiting the Emperor Gojong's road
Try walking down the road
and take time to think about the history of the Korean Empire
It's awesome that there is
a lot of history and stories related to Deoksugung Palace
I really had a lot of fun
There are different courses being offered by Seoul Guided Walking Tour
(You can check on dobo.visitseoul.net)
Try searching Seoul Guided Walking Tour online
You'll be able to find out information on making reservations and other details
Seoul's cultural tourism interpreters 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 interpreter)
(Deoksugung Palace)