Monday, April 26, 2010

The Five Grand Palaces of Seoul

The magnificent palaces built during the Joseon dynasty

Let me introduce you the Five Grand Palaces of Seoul, one of the main sights of this amazing city. I only saw three of the five, but those were the biggest and the main ones, which are well preserved and being further restored. They're located in the northern part of the historic Seoul and most of the tourists go and see these palaces. So in case you're heading there one day, here's a brief intro. In my upcoming posts I will post some beautiful photos of the three palaces I've seen, I hope you will like it. So here they are, placed in order by their significance:

Chang·deok·gung [창덕궁/昌德宮] - "Palace of Prospering Virtue"

Changdeokgung Small

This incredible Korean royal palace is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's like a holy place for Koreans. This is my favorite palace of the three I've seen. It's huge and massive, with a beautiful secret garden and amazing architecture [source].

Gyeong·bok·gung [경복궁/景福宮] - "Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven"

Gyongbokgung Small

This was the main palace of the Korean kings during the Joseon dynasty. It's truly an amazing place. You can see the changing of the guards ceremony in front of the main gate. The National Folk Museum of Korea is also located near by and during my visit, there was some beautiful sakura everywhere [source].

Chang·gyeong·gung [창경궁/昌慶宮] - "Palace of Flourishing Gladness"

Changgyeonggung

This former palace of Korean kings is also very interesting. It's the first one I have visited. The whole area is big, if you include gardens and Jongmyo, so you'll have a lot of walking to do, if you want to see everything. But the palace itself is not so big and there's not so many accompanying buildings like with the previous two palaces. It's worth to see the whole premise [source].

Deok·su·gung [덕수궁/德壽宮] - "Palace of Virtuous Longevity"

Like every of the palaces, this one was also heavily destroyed by the Japanese and only 33% of the original size remains. I haven't visited this palace during my trip [more here].

Gyeong·hui·gung [경희궁/慶熙宮] - "Palace of Serene Harmony"

This palace was completely destroyed by the Japanese and has been rebuilt in the recent years. I haven't visited this one as well [more here].

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