Changdeokgung Palace

If I was still writing Hot or Not for the Journal at Saint Mary’s, Catholic churches in Europe would be Not, and ancient palaces in Korea would be Hot. It is so cool to head into Seoul and check out a huge sprawling palace that once belonged to the Josean dynasty, or Korea’s royal family. The royal family here died out about 10 years ago when two sons died in different incidences leaving no immediate relatives to take the thrown. The five ancient palaces were turned over to the government and are now sweet tourist sites for cheap. Just like churches in Europe, you really don’t need to check out more than one, so we picked one of the biggest ones, and the last one the monarchy lived in.

Changdeokgung or Changdeok Palace is just outside the downtown area of Seoul. The only way to visit the palace is on a guided tour. Thankfully, there are regular ones in English and we speak English. A little lady in Hanbok, or traditional Korean clothing met us at the gate with all the other tourists, I mean English teachers. The tour lasted about an hour and a half and we got to see all the hotspots. She showed us the throne room, the administration building (marked by the only blue tiled roof), the separate King’s and Queen’s quarters (and where it was deemed okay for royal baby-making), and the concubine’s residence. She explained how the palace had burnt down several times in several places over the last 500 years, and then explained about the fires they like in ovens under all the wood buildings to heat them. This is called an undol floor heating system, and I may be bold to draw parallels with this traditional heating system and the frequent fires. Some I guess can be blamed on Japanese invasions.

The tour guide explained lots of other stuff too. She told us why all the walkways and stairs were elevated in the middle, for only the king to walk on. The detail in the painting of the roofs and buildings is amazing. It must cost a fortune for upkeep. There is also no glass, just paper windows and doors. Some glass and modern furniture were brought in during the 80’s, but not a lot. There was also a door cut from a solid rock that keeps you from aging, and another wooden one to make you wiser. There was also a 600-year-old juniper tree that is a national monument. It looks like a monkey from a certain angle.

The highlight of the tour was the secret garden at the end. I’m not sure how secret it is any more since they run regular tours to it, but it was really cool to be taken back there. It was a private pond just for the royal family. There is a reflecting pond, a reading room shaped like a lotus, library and study, and beautiful scenery. You really forget you are in the middle of Seoul. The air walking there and back through the trees was very fresh and it was much cooler than out in the sun and on the pavement.

We’re going to check out another palace just to see one with all the leaves changing, but I guess they are supposedly all the same. If they are, then they are really interesting and beautiful places preserves in the middle of a chaotic and noisy city.