Gyeongbokgung Palace Dynasty Seoul
◎History of Gyeongbokgung Palace
Gyeongbokgung Palace is the best legal palace of the Joseon Dynasty. It is located leaning against Bukaksan Mountain to the north, and in front of Gwanghwamun, the main gate, a wide Yukjo Streer(now Sejong-ro) spreads out, which is also the center of the urban planning of Hanyang (Seoul), the capital.
It was founded by King Taejo Lee Seong-gye in 1395, burned down by the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592, and rebuilt in 1867 during the region of King Gojong. The reconstructed Gyeongbokbung Palace, led by Heungseon Daewongun, was magnificent with more than 500 buildings packed like a maze.
Inside the palace, political facilities for kings and officials, living spaces for royalty, amd sponsorship spaces for relaxation were created. It is also a place where many small palaces are gathered again in the palace, including the Queen's Junggung Palace, the Crown prince's Donggung Palace, and the Geoncheonggung Palace built by King Gojong. However, most of the buildings were demolished during the Japanese colonial period, leaving only a few central buildings, such as Geunjeongjeon, and the Joseon Governor-General's Office was built to cover the palace itself. Fortunately, a full-fledged restoration project has been carried out since 1990, demolishing the Governor-General's building and restoring the Heungryemun area, and restoring the appearance of the king and queen's sedimentation, Donggung, Geoncheonggung, and Taewonjeon.
The central part connecting Gwanghwamun - Heungnyemun - Geunjeongmun - Geunjeon - Sajeongjeon - Gangnyeongjeon - Gyotaejeon is the core space of the palace, and it is constructed symmetrically according to the geometric order. However, the architecture except for the center is asymmetrically arranged to combine the beauty of change and unification. Enjoy the essence of elegant and elegant royal culture at Gyeongbokgung Palace, the center of the capital Seoul and the best palace of Joseon.n
▶Which is bigger, Gyeongbokgung Palace or Forbidden City in China? What's the difference?
- Gyeongbokgung palace and Forbidden City in China have square shape of palace. And from the south to the north, important buildings are built, and they're lined up on either side. It's full of neatly arranged buildings, all showing the magnificent palace. then, is there any difference between Gyeongbokgung palace and Forbidden City? The difference is that the Forbidden city is wide and shallow, while Gyeongbokgung palace is narrow and very deep. And outside the Forbidden city, a wide stream surrounds the Forbidden city. This stream of water is called a moat, and the ground was dug outside the palace amd filled with water to prevent enemies from attacking from outside.
But outside Gyeongbokgung palace, there is no stream surrounding the palace like forbidden city. There was no need to navigate to defend the enemy. The other thing is that the forbidden city is flat land with mountains. There is a mountain behind Forbidden City, which is an artificial mountain made of dug soil. However, Gyeongbokgung palace has built a palace under Baekgaksan Mountain (Bukaksan Mountain) and has a natural fortress of nature. Since ancient times, our people have cherished Mt.Baekdu as a sacred mountain. And I thought the spiritual energy of Mt.Beakdu was laeding to Gyeongbokgung palace the mountain range. On an old map, you can see the mountain range of Baekdusan Mountain connected to Amisan Mountain in Gyotaejeon Hall in Gyeongbokgung palace.
▶How many people lived in Gyeongbokgung palace during the Joseon Dynasty?
- The palace is the place where the king and his family lived. And there were people who helped the king and the queen do a lot of things. Many people lived or entered the palace, including officials who worked for the country, court ladied and eunechs who worked to make it easier for the royal family to live, soldiers guarding the palace, cooks who made food and doctors who healed the disease. then how many people lived in Gyeongbokgung palace? I don't know exactly, but usually about 3,000 people lived in or went to and from the palace. there are about 500 royal famillies, court ladies, and eunuchs, about 2,000 soldiers guarding the palace, and about 500 servants and palace workers.
▶What is the animal-shaped tile on the roof of the Gyeongbokgung palace building?
- If you look closely at the roof of the palace, there are not only roof tiles that are heating up the roof, but also animal-shaped tiles. Animal-shaped tiles are carved, but they're kind of baked like roof tiles. These tiles are called "decorators," and imaginary animals that protect the palace from fire are guarding the roof. The decorative tiles at the top left and right ends of the roof are called "Chwi-du." If you come down from Chwidu, there's Yongdu. The head and the head are shaped like are shaped like dragons. And the things lined up side by side in front of the dragon head are miscellaneous objects. The miscellaneous statues are made up of imaginary animals such as Samjang Buddhist monk, Son Goku, Shaoxing, and Jeopalgye, the main characters of the novel Seoyugi. If you look under the miscellaneous goods in a row, there is a 'toe' inserted at the end of the eaves. The vomit is shaped like a dragon.