Gyeongbok Palace

The following pics are of my recent trip to a very important historical site for Seoul and Korea.

Gyeongbok Palace was built in 1395 by the founder of the Joseon Dynasty, King Taejo, one year after he moved the capital from Gaeseong to Seoul. It was the primary residence of the royal family.

The palace was destroyed by fire during the Japanese invasion of 1592, and it was finally restored in 1868, the 5th year of the reign of the Prince Regent Daewongun, after three years of hard work.

Except for a few buildings including Gyeonghoeru Pavilion and Geunjeongjeon Hall, many of the palace buildings were demolished during the Japanese occupation prior to WWII.

In 1990, the government launched another restoration project. Donggung (East Palace), Gangnyeongjeon Hall, and Heungnyemun Gate have now been restored, and many other buildings will be restored by 2009.

These buildings were restored in the traditional way. By that I mean, hand painted with paints made from flowers, etc. Obviously, this makes the restoration process take much longer, but I think it's so so much better. I would love to see what the rest of the restored Palace Grounds will look like, but 2009 is a long way off :-)

Me