Gyeongbokgung Palace

Sabrina Gradolf editor（Switzerland）

My colleague and I were able to visit the Gyeonbokgung Palace and the small museum. How we felt, we can’t put into words. It was as if we traveled back in time. Exciting, very impressive and beautiful can describe this historical place - A MUST SEE when you’re in Seoul.　Here we’ve summarized the most important things about the palace but also check out our photos and our Youtube-Video.

It was in 1395, three years after the Joseon Dynasty was founded by King Taejo, when the construction of the main royal Palace was completed after the capital of the newly founded dynasty moved from Gaeseong to Seoul. The Palace was named Gyeongbokgung Palace, the "Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven”, with Mount Bugaksan to its rear and Mount Namsan in the foreground.

In front of Gwanghwamun Gate, the main entrance to the Palace, Yukjogeori-ran (Street of Six Ministries, today's Sejongno), home to major government offices. Along the central axis upon which Gwanghwamun Gate stood was the nucleus of the Palace, including the throne hall, council hall and king's residence. The government ministry district and main buildings of Gyeongbokgung Palace formed the heart of the capital city of Seoul and represented the sovereignty of the Joseon Dynasty. After all the Palaces in the capital were razed by the Japanese during the Hideyoshi invasions of 1592-'98, the second palace Changdeokgung, was rebuilt and served as the main Palace.

Gyeongbokgung Palace was left derelict for the next 273 years. It was finally reconstructed in 1867 by the order of the prince regent. The palace prince regent Heungseon reconstructed, was markedly different from the original. 500 buildings were built on a site of over 40 hectares and constituted a small city. Gyeongbokgung Palace was largely torn down during the Japanese occupation. 93% of the restored buildings were dismantled, Gwanghwamun Gate was dismantled and relocated to the east and an enormous building, housing the Japanese government general, was constructed in front of the main sector of the Palace. An effort to fully restore Gyeongbokgung Palace to its former glory has been ongoing since 1990. The Japanese government general building was finally removed and Heungnyemun Gate was restored to its original state. The royal living quarters and the East Palace for the crown prince were also restored to their original state.

Sabrina Gradolf editor（Switzerland）

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