05 January 2007

Changdeok Palace

Tuesday, I went down to Seoul to spend some time with my brother-in-law and his wife and my mother-in-law who was visiting us in Korea. This, of course, let me go through one of my favorite subway stations, Naksapyeong.



It might be a little goofy to have a favorite station, but after a while, you get to know some of them and their various personalities.

The agenda for the day was to go and see some of the palaces in Seoul...So after lunch, onto the subway and away we go....To our first stop. Now, I'll be the first to admit, my Korean is minimal and I can't read a lick of Hangul. But even I can figure this sign out.



Well gee, here's what we could have seen...



So, now doubting our printed guide, but pressing on anyway, we went to a market, whose name I can't recall--lot's of "food" that was across my "line" and bunches of clothes and textiles. Then we walked over to Dongdaemun Stadium and its flea market. (Is it possible to go to Seoul without visiting this place?)

Then, tentatively putting our trust in our guidebook again we headed for Changdeok Palace and the promised 1550 English-speaking tour.



We made it and enjoyed the tour, which takes about 90 minutes and entails about 1.5 miles of walking. The view above is the Main Hall, just inside (can you guess?) the Main Gate! Below is a detail shot of figures on the corners of some of the roofs. They have significance in Buddhism, but I didn't catch what, exactly, that significance was.



Hers is a view looking toward the Main Gate from the front of the Main Hall.



And then a shot of the "throne" in the Main Hall. The Main Hall and courtyard were only used for large and important ceremonies, according to our guide.



We then progressed from the Main Hall area on the rest of our tour. Here is a shot of some of the grounds. Rather pretty, even in the dead of winter.



Here is a shot of our tour guide, and the family standing behind her....yeh. (You had to be there.)



The quarters of the royal family (king and queen) were the next main attraction. There are covered walkways between the various buildings of this complex.



At various spots around the grounds, near major buildings, are these large water-pots. Our guide explained that they were for fire prevention, though not the way most of us would think. The idea was, when the fire gods would come down of the sky, they would see themselves reflected in the water, be frightened, and run away, not causing fires.



Most of the main buildings were exquisitely painted. It would be a full-time job just to be on the paint crew for this palace. Here is a shot showing some of the detail.



Some areas had small gutters and downspouts, which were also decorative as well as functional. I am assuming the downspout is supposed to resemble a Tufted Duck, which is fairly common in Korea.



Yes, we are still in the royal quarters, let's look at roof lines for a moment. Here is the king's quarters.



And the queen's quarters. (yes, apparently it isn't that good to be the king.)



Notice the lack of the ridge on the queen's quarters? There was a lot of symbolism in this, and I didn't catch it all. Part of it had to do with spirits coming down to their children at birth and the roof with a ridge would block that somehow.

Moving on from the royal quarters, here is a view of the interior of a random room.



And a gate in one of the internal palace walls. (This is a large complex and is subdivided, I assume for both security and aesthetic reasons.)



And here is a little garden area as we leave the royal quarters compound.



Speaking of gardens, the palace has a "secret garden." Here is the "approach" to this special area.



One of the main features of this large garden area is the library. The building in the center is the main library, with reading areas on the second floor. The building to the left is additional book storage. You can also see the main gate leading up to this structure.



Here is a gazebo, also located next to the pond from the picture above. It has a non-traditional roofline and more corners than the typical building. All of this is supposed to help it represent a lotus flower. (That's what she said, honest!)



compare the above with this more "typical" pavilion and you can see the difference.



A closer view of the library and the main gate leading up to it.



When you get close enough, you find this little gate to the left of the main gate for the library. This is the gate that most people who were allowed to come to the library had to use. Only royalty and certain officials could use the big gate, apparently.



Near some of the buidlings were these sundials, which I found interesting. I don't know what all the markings mean, but they look pretty advanced, I assume showing equinoxes and the like.



As we progressed on our tour, and I kept taking photos, I knew I wanted to write this up on my blog....But my blog is about flying things.....Oh, look! A Eurasian Magpie!



And not even a good picture of it at that, but I've satisfied my OFTC rule. (Obligatory Flying Thing Content).

And of course, what would any palace be without servant's quarters? (Well, it would be a pain to clean and maintain, that's for sure!)



And that completes our tour together. Thanks for joining me. Until next time.....