It’s crrrrrruuuuunch time in my own end of the universe. It comes with the territory of being a bean counter, I suppose, because it’s that time of the year again: preparation of yearend financial reports. Hopefully, by the end of this week, this busy time will be over…. only to make way for another, equally, busy time. But hey, better busy than idle, I always say.
So I’m taking a bit of a break from numbers and balances, and dive right into the continuation of my “revisiting Gyeongbukgong series. (Check out the first part here.)
During my first visit, we did not really go to the very end of Gyeongbukgong… so I was quite surprised when we went past a gate… and stepped into seemingly another just as expansive area. It was quite a pleasant surprise to me that I completely forgot that my feet were now starting to ache.
By the way, “Gyeongbukgong” literally translates to “Palace greatly blessed by the Heavens”.
Here’s a closer look at Bugak-san another place I’d want to visit next time. Maybe on the late afternoon until evening, because I heard the Bugaksan Skyway looks especially pretty at night, what with all the lights on.
From a distance away, you can spot the top of the National Folk Museum of Korea. Which we didn’t visit. Maybe next time. At this point, I still did not feel any urge to visit any museums.
Incidentally, the National Folk Museum of Korea is not the only museum close to Gyeongbukgong because, right beside it, on the opposite side, is the National Palace Museum of Korea. You can actually devote an entire day (or half a day if you are quick) visiting these three places: the National Folk Museum, the National Palace Museum, and Gyeongbukgong.
Located behind the Queen’s residences is a wide expanse of lawn, basically an empty lot. It is called the Heungbokjeon, and restoration work just started last October 2015. When we were there, it was an empty lot, with markers on some areas. We had no idea it was for restoration purposes.
The Heungbokjeon was used as a residential building for royal concubines. Which I found intriguing, because of its proximity to the Queen’s residences. A strategic move, perhaps?
You can see part of the lawn I was talking about in the first pic.
Right beside the Heungbokjeon is the Hamhwadang and Jipgyeongdang vicinity. These areas were also for the royal concubines and the court ladies. Although, in some places, it was described as a place where the King (Gojong, specifically) received foreign envoys.
It was quite spacious when we entered. And quiet. I can imagine the place bustling with ladies walking around doing their business, though. Maybe a catfight or two? Haha!
These two halls are connected by a corridor, which represents that complexity of passages in the palace. Better to sneak in and out, I suppose?
Stepping back out, we circled round to the Hyangwonji, a pond that looked so beautiful you cannot help but stop and just… stare.
This is essentially the “back garden” of the Palace, where the King rested or spent leisurely time in.
King Gojong decided to put an artificial islet in the middle of the pond, and built a two-tier hexagonal pavilion on it. He called the pavilion Hyangwonjeong, which means the “Pavilion of Far-reaching Fragrance”.
The islet was connected to the main land by a bridge made of wood and stone. It is called Chwihyanggyo,which translates to “a bridge intoxicated/overwhelmed with fragrance”.
Unfortunately, the pavilion is closed to the public, and so is the bridge. So we can only watch it from afar.
I think I went overboard with taking pictures here. Because it was just too pretty~
We decided to sit down on one of the benches for a bit, to rest our feet, and to grab a bite of some of the pastries we bought from Paris de Baguette earlier (because it’s past 5pm and we haven’t had a proper lunch yet!).
And look who came by to wander around us.
Resuming our tour, we got up and continued walking to the other end of the pond, where the Yeolsangjinwon Spring is. This spring is the source of the water flowing to the Hyangwonji.
Behind the Hyangwonji is the Geoncheonggung, a palace that was once used as the residence of King Gojong and his wife, the Empress Myeongseong. The descriptive tablet talked about how the place was the site of one of the most tragic events at the time, since this is also where Empress Myeongseong was murdered by Japanese spies and agents in 1887.
The two main buildings inside this Palace (within the Palace) were the quarters of the King and the quarters of the Empress.
Below is the Jangandang, or the Hall for the King.
This place was reopened to the public only in 2010, and restoration is a continuous effort. So you can still smell the woodsy scent in the buildings. We actually took a moment to sit around and just enjoy sniffing the fresh pine scent. 🙂
After a while, we stepped back out and walked round to the other side of the pond.
And here’s our final glimpse of Hyangwonji.
We made our way back towards the front gate of Gyeongbukgong, but taking a side route, and we came across this: the Gyeonghoeru.
Now this, I remember, because this was our final stop when I first came here, and this is where we spent more than a few minutes hanging out and taking photos. IT STILL LOOKS AS SERENE AS EVER.
The Gyeonghoeru is the two-tier pavilion on an artificial islet located in the middle of this rectangular lake. Remember the Yeolsangjinwon Spring earlier? It flows into Jyangwonji, and empties into this lake.
Three stone bridges connect the pavilion to the rest of the palace. But just like the pavilion on Hyangwonji, it is not open to the public.
Again, this is a spot where you unconsciously just continue taking photos.
The Gyeonghoeru pavilion is marked as National Treasure No. 224, and it was used as a place where the King and his court officials met with and entertained foreign envoys.
It would’ve been nice if they allowed visitors into the Pavilion, because apparently you can see the Throne Hall from the second floor.
It was actually close to the living quarters of the King. Just walk a bit and you will get back to Gangnyeongjeon.
While we were chilling at the side of the lake, we can now hear the repeated advisory over the speakers that it is already 6pm, and that the Palace will be closing for the day at 6:30pm. How did we react? Unconcerned, mainly. Haha! We were going, “oh, there’s still 15, 10 minutes left, we can still go around.”
So we took our sweeeeet time.
As we passed by the Main Throne Hall, we can see the last stragglers for the day heading out.
And this was the first of several places that we “CLOSED” while we were on this trip. Apart from this ahjussi who looked like a staff of the place, ushering everyone out, Lorie and I were the last to leave Gyeongbukgong. XDD
It was really a pleasure to come back to this place again, and make a more thorough circuit of it. I have great respect for how South Korea treats its treasures, keeping them preserved for their future generations, and for non-Koreans like us, to appreciate. I only see these types of places in kdramas, and there’s a certain satisfaction in seeing it in person.
Annyeong, Gyeongbukgong. Until I see you again. And I will!
Some tips you might find helpful.
- One hour may not be enough if you want to fully explore the place. Devote 2 to 4 hours, and make sure you catch any of the Changing of the Guards ceremonies (at 11am and 4pm, if I remember correctly). There are also free guided tours at designated hours, available in 3 languages. More info here.
- Wear comfy footwear. Quite a lot of walking involved here on stone and dirt. If you want to step inside some of the Halls, you’d be asked to remove your footwear, so you might want to wear socks.
- Don’t forget a copy of the guidebooks at the Ticket area. It’s quite helpful.
Additional photo credits to Lorelei Antero.
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