Gyeongbokgung

Last weekend, David and I finally sat down and wrote out a list of all the places we want to visit in Seoul, in Korea (day or weekend trips), and in Asia (longer trips). We've been in Korea 4 months and have sadly not seen a whole lot yet, on account of David's busy work schedule and our mutual lack of motivation. [Admittedly, I'm quite a homebody. I love to see new things and travel but most nights I'm content just to stay in.] On Monday, we forced ourselves to go and visit one of the items on our list: Gyeongbokgung Palace.

We'd previously visited Changdeokgung Palace (and honestly, if you've been to one Korean palace, you've seen all you need to see of Joseon era Korean architecture) but I'm a sucker for architecture, so we went anyway. I have to say that I loved Gyeongbokgung Palace so much more than Changdeokgung. For one, we were allowed to wander on our own through the many sections of the palace complex; at Changdeokgung, we had to stay with a large guided group. But mostly, Gyeongbokgung just felt more visually stunning to me. There were some extraordinarily beautiful spots in the palace and just a feeling of greater peace and beauty there.

So a brief history before the barrage of photographs: Gyeongbokgung, which means "a prayer for great bliss for the king" was originally built in 1395, at the very beginning of the Joseon Dynasty and served as the main palace until the Japanese burned it to the ground in 1592. It was rebuilt in 1867 but it was demolished by the Japanese again in 1915. (To say that Koreans despise the Japanese would be an understatement.) The current palace complex has been under restoration since 1990 and is nearly complete. You can obviously tell which are the newer sections of the palace (most of which are unpainted), but they've done a remarkable job of restoring the palace.

This is Heungryemun, the entrance to the palace complex and the gate protecting the main throne hall. At certain times of the day, Korean re-enactors recreate the ceremony of the changing of the guard, which we were able to see a little of.

This is Geunjeongjeong, the main throne hall of Gyeongbokgung. Your place in society determined what pathway you were allowed to take to reach the throne hall. Only the emperor could walk down the center footpath.

From another angle.

Inside the throne hall.

And the gorgeous ceiling.

There were lots of fun animal statues all throughout the palace complex. This, I believe, is Baekho, the guardian of the west.

This, according to my guide book, is either a rat or a rabbit. Doesn't really look like either to me (which is why I can't tell which it's supposed to be).

And on the stairs leading up to the library and reception hall for foreign envoys are what look like dragons and tigers. I mean, I have a picture guide to all the statues, but I swear they don't look a thing like the animal they are meant to portray. Except the rooster, but only because it's the only bird.

Like I said, I love architecture and architectural elements. Indulge me for a moment.

I'm a big fan of columns. I love the way they photograph.

Love the doors and colors. The lock is particularly interesting on this door.

The side of the throne hall as seen through a doorway.

The colors and curves of Korean architecture.

Willow trees. They're just plain cool.

I couldn't decide which shot I liked more. So you get both.
This is Gyeonghoeru Pavilion where the king threw lavish banquets and parties. It sits on an island in the middle of a man-made pond.

This was my favorite spot in the palace complex. This is Hyangwonjeong, a tiny building on an islet surrounding by beautiful trees and a pond full of fish. Unfortunately, this also stands in front of the queen's living quarters where Empress Myeongseong was assassinated by the Japanese in 1895.

Still pretty though.

I hope we'll get out a lot more and I can report back on our findings. And if things ever get boring, there's always the Seoul Museum of Chicken Art.....

재미!!!

The Korean word of the day is 재미 pronounced jeh-mi. Jehmi means FUN!

Yesterday (Friday) was an insanely long but fun day. We woke up on the earlier side of the morning (not a regular habit with us these days due to David's fluctuating work schedule) and hopped on the subway to visit the Seoul Immigration Office near Anguk station. Since the military and weather had joined forces to make getting my visa as difficult as possible, we decided to head straight to the immigration office where it took a grand total of 10 minutes to get my visa. So now I'm an official, legal resident of Korea. Hooray!

Since Changdeokgung, a palace built in 1405 during the Joseon Dynasty was nearby, we decided to enrich ourselves culturally and visit the large palace complex. We waited until 11:30 for the English tour but it might as well have been in Korean because I could only understand about 1 in 3 words that our Korean tour guide said in "English." David actually understood the guides better in Korean than in English. Oh well. At least we got a brochure in English that explained everything. And I've only found a few grammatical errors so far.

Here's the main gate of Changeokgung where we began our tour. Various parts of the palace complex were destroyed, rebuilt, and destroyed again by the Japanese and fire. It was fully restored in 1991. It's a much bigger complex than I thought it would be.

Here we are all walking along toward Injeongmun, the gate (on the left) that opens into the courtyard to Injeongjeon, the throne hall. As you can see, it was raining. Because no Korean day is complete without rain. Luckily for us, though, it drizzled through the majority of the tour and only started to really rain at our last stop.

Here's the throne hall. The guide said something about why they used particular colors on all the buildings and what they mean but I stopped trying to understand her at about this point in the tour.

And here's the interior of the throne room where coronations and state events were held. I especially liked the interesting light fixtures and the interesting blend of Western and Eastern aesthetics.

I don't remember what part of palace this was, but this is a picture of the ondolbong furnaces underneath the floor of one of the rooms. On means warm, dol means rock and bong means room. Basically it means that the floors were heated. Most Korean homes--including ours--still has heated floors. Except we don't have to light a furnace to heat ours. Thank goodness.

And here's David by the king's bed chamber. Or maybe it was the queen's. I forget.

I really can't remember where I snapped this picture, but I loved the look of all the pillars. I just wish it hadn't been such an overcast day so that the colors would have really popped.

The final stop of our tour (right before the rains started pouring down) was the "Secret Garden" where no one could enter unless the king gave his permission. It really wasn't much of a garden in the western sense but it did have a pretty lily pond and terraced walls.

After our tour was over, we found a Korean restaurant near the subway where we stopped to eat. It was a beautifully crafted place, full of wood detailing and open beams. I love that rustic, hand-carved look. I took a few photos of the meal, but I really wish I had taken more so that I could show you how elaborate Korean meals are. Perhaps another post. Suffice it to say, there are only so many choices at a Korean restaurant and unless I'm feeling adventurous, I generally order bulgogi. However, David greatly complimented me by saying that he's been very surprised by how well I've adapted to Korean food since he didn't expect me to like any of it. Sure, some of it is weird, and I don't like how hot and spicy a lot of it is (I'm still not convinced that kimchi is all that great), but some of it is pretty dang tasty and I'm trying to be as open as possible. If I eat enough of it, I'm sure I'll grow to like it.

After lunch, we made our way home. I attempted to put a few more things away (our house is still a disaster. I have no idea where most of our stuff is going to go) and then we called our friends to see if they wanted to brave the Korean cinema and see the new Harry Potter movie with us. But I'll talk about that fun adventure (and my disappointment with the movie) in the next post. Right now, I need to clean my kitchen!