Chandokkung Palace, the special royal residence built just before Kyungbokkung Palace in 1405, is arranged according to the topography of the mountain. Inside the palace stand a grove of old zelkova trees and pagoda trees. To enter the palace, one must cross Kumchungyo Bridge, the oldest stone bridge in Seoul. The bridge is beautifully decorated with carving of mythical beasts, which were supposed to protect the palace from evil. Injungjon, whose floor is covered with even, square-cut stones, is surrounded by covered walkways. A building called Pigungchung served a sa reception room where government officials stayed when they came to meet the king. Today, motor cars, carriages and sedan chairs used by King Gojong (1892~1919) and Sunjong (1874~1926) are on public display. North of this building, Eunjungjon, the king's private residence, is located facing south, in harmony with the topography of the mountain. Inside, in a secluded spot, are Taejojon and Huijungdang. Taejojon, the bedroom for the king and queen, has a name that means 'to enlarge something', a reference to the prince who oneday would accede to the throne. Huijungdang was the place where the king always wtayed and met with important visitors. East of Taejojon are Naksonjae, Sugangjae, Sukpokun and other affiliated buildings where, in the past, royal relations such as the prince and princess, or the king's mother liced. Also, Huwon (rear garden), where royalty relaxed, is famed for its natural arrangement, where forests, ponds, pagodas, walls, a valley and a stone bridge are arranged in harmony with the topography of the mountain. Changdokkung Palace is one of the five palaces of the Chosun Dynasty, which best preserves its original shape and splendor. The date of its original construction is uncertain. In the history book "YeokDaeJungMok", it is written that the palace was constructed in 1395, but another history recorder, "Kungulji" says this palace was built in the early part of the Chosun Dynasty. This Changdokkung Palace was bruned down during the Japanese Toyotomi-hideyoshi's invasion, in 1592, and rebuilt in 1611 during the reign of King Kwanghaegun, the 15th King of the Chosun Dynasty. This palace was used was the Official Royal Residence until 1910 shen King Sunjong, the 27th and the last king of the Chosun Dynasty moved to the Kyungbok Palace. Donhwamun The Donhwamun gate is the south main gate of the Changdokkung Palace, which was originally built in 1412, the 12th year of Taejong's reign, the 3rd king of the Chosun Dynasty. The building is one of the characteristics of the building that is in early stage of Chosun Dynasty, and it is considered one of the oldest wooden strctures in Seoul. The gate is the only one survived the ravages of the Japanese invasion in 1592, when the major portions of the palace were burned down. Injungjun, the audience hall Injungjun is the main throne hall of the Changdokkung palace, which was initially built as the detached palace in 1404, the 4th year of King Taejong's reign, the 3rd king of Chosun Dynasty. The original building was demolished by fire during the Japanese invasion in 1592, and was rebuilt by Kwanghoegun in the 3rd year of his reign, 1611. The rebuilt building was burned down again by an accidental fire in the 3rd year of King Sunjong's reign, 1803, and was renovate in the following year. The magnificient double roofed audience hall and its beautiful inner decorations, such as the imperial throne, ceiling decoration in DanChUng, red and blue colors, represent the characteristics of the architectural art of the later part of the Chosun Dynasty. The Kunjungjun of the Kyungbokkung Palace is said to hace been built as an imitation of the Injungjun. Historical Relics displaced in the Injungjun This audience room is now used as an exhibition room for the relics formerly used by the kings and queens and other members of the royal family. The old cars are a 1903 Cadillac for the king and a 1909 Tumbler for the queen. The relics displayed in the first room are the ceremonial and casual costumes for the king, queen and other members of the royal family. One of them is the King's ceremonial costume with a diadem. The king used to wear the costume and crown on the occasion of his coronation ceremony and the sacrificial rite at the royal household shrine, "Jongmyo". The other one is the queen's ceremonial attire. The Chosun Dynasty seemed to adapt the sartorial system of the Chinese Ming Dynasty for its official costume. Also displayed is the King's Official Attire called "Kolyongpo". He used to wear it in his official capacity. The head-gear is called "Iksunkwan". The king's official costume has four patches attached, which are embroidered with a dragon with 5 paws, on the breast, back and on both coluders. The number of paws of the dragon indicates the rank of the members of the royal family, for instance, 5 paws for the king, 4 paws for the crown prince, and 3 paws for the other members of the royal family. The crane in the patches on the court official uniform indicate a civil official and the tiger indicates a military official. The official costume with the headgear is called "Kumkwan Chobok", and the costume was worn when the officials had audience with king. The hierarchical system of the Chosun Dynasty was divided into 9 grades. The officials who were higher than 3rd grade were called "Tansankwans" and were entitled to sit on the upper floor when they had an audience with the king, while whose with a lower grade than 3rd were called the "Tanhakwans" who used to sit on the lower floor. Discriminations between the "Tansang-kwan" and "Tanhwa-kwan" were made by the number of cranes embroidered in the parches on the official costumes. The officials higher than 3rd grade had 2 crane flying in cloud while the officials lower than 3rd grade had a single crane. The official costume formerly worn by the last crown prince of the Chosun Dynasty is also displayed there. The prince passed away in 1970 at the age of 72 in the Naksunjae. A sword displayed there is called a "four-tiger sword" as it is made at the tiger hour (three to five o'clock in the morning) on the tiger day, in the tiger month and in the tiger year. It is said a symbolic sword is to guard the royal bedroom. Sunjungjun Sunjungjun is located to the north-east of the injungjun in the Changdokkung Palace. This palace building was built in 1653, during the reign of King Kyojong, the 17th king of the Chosun Dynasty as an imperial resting hall. Later it was used as an audience room to receive civil and military officials, and the foreign envoys. This is the only palace building left in which the roof is made of the typical blue-glazed tiles of the earlier Koryo Dynasty. However it is said that most of the palace buildings used to be covered by blue-glazed tile roofs before the Japanese invasion in the 16th century. The ceramists during the Chosun Dynasty attempted to produce the celadon(blue-glazed porcelain) tile, but they realized that their efforts were furtile and gave up their attempts. Hijungdang Hijungdang is comparatively a small palace building located in the residential area of the Changdokkung palace, east to the Sunjungjun. In the building, there is a semi-European style reception room with carpeting, mirrors and uphlstered chairs made in France. The reception room was used by King Sunjong, the 27th King of the Chosun Dynasty for the palace renovation. This building was rebuilt in 1615, and used by Kings as an informal palace for managing the national affairs. Before the Kyungbokkung Palace was rebuilt following destruction by the Japanese invasion, the dowager queen Cho, the wife of Ikjong, and the regent Daewonjun used the rooms in this building during the teen-age years of King Kojong. Daejojun Daejojun is located in the inner court and is reached by descending the steps from Hijungdang. This palace building was used as a daily living house for kings and queens. The original building was burned down by and accidental fire in the 30th year of the reign of King Sunjom the 23rd king of the Chosun Dynasty. The present building was moved to this site form the Kyongbokkung Palace after Queen Min was murdered by a group of Jpanese invaders in 1895, 32nd year of King Kojong's reign. Naksunje Naksunje is located to the east of the main palace building of the Changdokkung Palace. This building was originally constructed in 1846 by King Hunjong , the 24th king of the Chosun Dynasty for his consubine, Kim, Kyongbin, who was then fourteen years old. The Naksunje was later used as a retirement home for the queens. Queen Yun, the last queen of the Chosun Dynasty, the wife of King Sunjong, used to live here until her death on February 3, 1966. The last crown prince, Yi, Un,; YungChinWang, passed away here in May 1970. Buyungjung Pavilion and Buyongji Upon entering the secret garden, one first approaches a larfe lotus pond with a small is land in the middle. The small pavilion to the left which extends over the water is called Buyongji and Buyongjuong. This pond was said to be fed by four springs, but today these springs can not be found. A small bablet on the west made by king Sukjong, the 19th king of the Chosun Dynasty tells of the discovery of these four springs. The Buyongjung Pavilion was constructed by King Jungjo, the 22th king of the Chosun Dynasty. |