Life in Kanazawa: Musings from the Far East

Deoksugung

As I said in the previous post, Seoul is teeming with people. It turns out the city is also teeming with old palaces. Before it became the capital of the Republic of Korea, Seoul was the capital of the Joseon dynasty, which ruled the Korean peninsula for more than five hundred years (1392-1910). Even before that, it had been the capital of other states on the peninsula and has a history stretching back to at least 18 BCE. WIth such an ancient history, the city is full of wonderful old sites, so many of which have survived the passage of time. However, being that Korea is set neatly between two rather imperialistic nations (Japan and China) a number of buildings from the Joseon dynasty have been burned down and reconstructed (some more than once). The following pictures are from Deoksugung, which was originally the residence of a Joseon prince but became Seoul's primary palace in 1593 after the Japanese destroyed all the others in the city during their 1592 invasion. Not all the buildings on this site date from that time, of course (many were reconstructed or restored in the early 1900s).



Guards in traditional dress standing in front of the main gate at Deoksugung.




The main hall at Deoksugung.




In the palace garden.




A statue of King Sejong, one of the greatest kings of the Joseon dynasty. He is credited with the invention of the Hangeul script, an almost perfect description of Korean phonetics. Quite an impressive feat!




The Two Wise Men of Korea (or so says Jane).

posted by Zachary and Jane @ 3:36 AM