Many people visit old palaces in Korea. Some visit to know more about the history of Korea, others visit to take pictures with the beautiful sights of the palaces. I have been to palaces for similar reasons. However as I was more interested in the sight of the palace than the history of it, now as the time has quickly passed from my last visit to a palace, I forgot most aspects of the histories of the palaces. Since I got a great chance to visit the palace, the chance of writing this Tidings’ section, I carefully planned a way to understand and introduce the palace better. I would like to tell you a story. A story that first creates the image of the palace in your mind and than connects that to the history behind it. So this is the very start of your first step to know the imperial palace of the Daehan Empire, Deoksugung:

There is a folklore passed down orally, that if a person walks down the Deoksugung Stonewall Walkway with one’s lover, they would break up soon. Well, this common saying has a behind-the-scenes-story: near Deoksugung Stonewall Walkway, there was a place where court ladies, who weren’t chosen by the king’s lover, would live. The spirits of these ladies would envy couples walking by and make them break up. This tale is just a saying and many people, especially couples visit Deoksugung Stonewall Walkway because it is one of the best spots to take beautiful pictures. More than just an orally passed down story, there is so much more to tell you about Deoksugung! Just keep reading, I will make you feel like wandering through the buildings of Deoksugung. Now let's learn more about Deoksugung!

History of Deoksugung

When you first get to view Deoksugung you might be surprised at some modern style buildings in the palace area. This is because the palace was mainly used during the Daehan Empire, which was in the late 19th century. Deoksugung was first used by Seonjo, the 14th king of the Joseon Dynasty, while he was in exile during the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592. He used the place formerly occupied by the descendants of Prince Wolsan as a temporary palace. At this time there was no name for this palace. Later prince Gwanghae moved into Changdeokgung Palace, and the palace of his descendants got a name, Gyeongungung. Gyeongungung was used by several kings of Joseon but it was not the main palace. When Gojong, the dynasty’s 26th king, moved into Gyeongungung Palace after a short stay at the Russian Legation it became the center of Joseon history.(If you want to know more about the history here, search the keyword: Joseon Dynasty)

At the moment of time when Deoksugung was used, the country was being opened up to Western culture. Moreover, Gojong was especially opened to Western culture, which made Deoksugungm have some Western-style buildings, electric lights and telephones. The name of the palace changed to Deoksugung when Gojong was forced to resign the throne in 1907. After that the palace was quickly downsized.

Jungmyeongjeon Hall

The history of the Joseon Dynasty is long and complicated. Many countries are closely connected to the history and there are plenty of facts to say about the Japanese colonial era. Deoksugung is a very important palace to be mentioned in this history. There is a mordern looking building, Jungmyeongjeon Hall located slightly away from the main Deoksugung Palace. This hall was originally used by King Gojong as his study, but King Gojong moved to the hall after a major fire broke out at Deoksugung Palace. Jungmyeongjeon Hall was a center of historic events ever since then. The Japanese started their plans of colonizing our country by forcing the signing of a treaty, Eulsaneukyak. Eulsaneukyak was concluded at Jungmyeongjeon Hall which deprived the Daehan Empire of its sovereignty. The Hall was also used as a social club for foreigners during the colonial period, and later was sold to a private citizen until it was finally returned to Deoksugung Palace in 2007(Cultural Heritage Administration jurisdiction).

As you can see the history of the palace connects to the sights of the palace. That is one easy way to learn history and match it to its sight. By not just wandering around the palace to look for spots to take great pictures, you can widen your perspective to look for meaningful places where history is asleep. Then you can treat the site with more attention, to the amount of their historical value. By writing this whole article I recognized how I can more understand the palace when knowing its history. The history is at every place and every moment. Some sites are quite famous due to its magnificent looks. However there are more stories behind in other nonfamiliar places. Well palaces are one of the best places you can meet lots of lost histories. How about visitingDeoksugung soon or later?

To be continued with a palace in May...

Choi Seoyoung  think0412@naver.com

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