Seoul was home to Korea’s emperors making it home also to impressive imperial architecture. Unfortunately, some of it is not so old because just like Beijing’s Summer Palace foreign powers invaded and destroyed some of it.
After visiting Seoul palaces, I am surprised at how close they all are to each other. Only being a few kilometers away, I don’t see how much respite the summer palace would have been from the normal palace.
Each palace is unique and special in its own way. They are also much more ornate than Beijing’s Forbidden City, though not anywhere near as large.
Changdeokgung
The first we visited is the only one inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Originally built as a summer palace, it became the main residence when the other ruined by fire. This palace is a bit of a refuge built ascending the green-covered mountain behind it.
This palace also has many buildings including a throne room, residences, and a model lower-class farm house for the royalty to role play in just like Marie Antoinette’s village at Versailles and Suzhou Street at Beijing’s Summer Palace.
Most of the buildings are built raised over a crawlspace that serves as a heater. There are chimneys throughout most of the palaces and furnaces. That’s because Seoul gets cold and snowy in the winter. Even with the element of fire, the buildings are mostly wood. And, unlike the Forbidden City, there aren’t water basins every few feet as fire safety measures. This is probably because Seoul doesn’t really get as dry as Beijing, so the wood wouldn’t have been as dry through most of the year and especially at winter time.
The Secret Garden
The most especial part of this royal abode is the “secret garden.” An oasis climbing the wooded slopes behind the palace, this garden is truly beautiful. For me, it isn’t just beautiful because of the buildings or the curated gardens but because it is so natural. It isn’t overdone. Instead the buildings and gardens are built into the landscape. They are a part of the forest and mountain. They are not man taming nature to suit his desires or to show mastery. Instead they show mastery by working with the beautiful natural surroundings. Honestly, this is one part of Korea’s culture I fell in love with instantly. Even in the airport or along a sidewalk, when there are plant arrangements, they are designed to feel and look natural.
I also enjoyed the tour of the gardens because they understood so much about their culture and why things are the way they are. In China, they lost most of that really detailed knowledge many decades ago, so today if you ask someone why something is the way it is, you will most likely be told because tradition. To me, tradition isn’t a good enough reason. There should be a reason behind the tradition.
For example, lotuses are very important in many Asian cultures. In China, I have wondered and asked why. The answer is generally because of tradition. In Korea, they explained the symbolism of a pure and beautiful flower rising up unmarred by the stagnant, dirty water it grows in. Amazing imagery and symbolism when the meaning is known.
Changgyeonggung
Neighboring Changdeokgung, I mean on the other side of the wall, is Changgyeonggung. This smaller collection of royal buildings was kind of the empress dowager retirement home. Additionally, it boasts a lovely garden and Victorian-era and style green house.
Throughout the gardens are statues and monuments. The most peculiar was marking the place they kept the royal placentas and umbilical cords.
Part two of my adventure to Seoul Palaces coming tomorrow.
