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Korea: Palaces Part II
written on Friday, May 02, 2014 @ 1:04 PM ✈
안녕!
I am back for palace part 2!Next palace that we went was Changdeokgung Palace and Huwon (창덕궁과 후원) This was the 2nd main palace after Gyeongbokgung and it has a secret garden inside as well! However, you need to pay additional 5,000 won to get in the garden and it has to be guided by the tour guide before you can enter (so need to find out the correct timing to go in!)  
(rely our survival on Paris Baguette Bread, they are quite nice i think!)
Since we found out that Changdeokgung and Jongmyo Shrine was quite near (10-20 minutes’ walk?) we decided to combine the 2 as a 1 day trip! 
(many wedding /traditional costume shop
(the main gate, isn't it pretty? :) )
(We reached Jongmyo Shrine first but found out that we cannot go in without the guided tour, so went to Changdeokgung and tried to rush back in time for the guided tour for Jongmyo Shrine!)
(finally a photo of us together)
 
(Majestic looking huh ?)
Changdeokgung Palace was the second royal villa built following the construction of Gyeongbukgung Palace in 1405. It was the principal palace for many of the Joseon kings and is the most well-preserved of the five remaining royal Joseon palaces 
(the room where the King stays and meet the Minister for small talk ?)
 
(yes, and this is a failed jumping shot again :( )
All of them are within the Changdeokgung Palace :) We were just in time for the guided tour for the Huwon!! Yeah, so lesser waiting time!  
(photoswith our cute tour guide!)
she is totally wrapped up, wonder if she is burning inside!
the weather was hot!
Inside the Huwon (Secret Garden),wasn’t really listening to the tour mainly focusing on taking photos and looking around, (oops sorry our tour guide! but we tried already, need to take photo! I think we spent about half a day there at least for the whole palace and the garden.
  
(the entrance of the library for the King, notice how there is a bigger gate and 2 smaller gate at the side, the main one is only for the King. Too bad that it is closed so we cannot see how it exactly look like inside.)
 
(looking a bit act over here. lol!)
(love how vibrant the colour is for this villa ^^ hehe)
 
(we are walking through the entrance that will help to retain your beauty! LOL! this is the real one! the replica one is the one at Gyeongbokgung station, mention in previous post. hehe)
(did we become prettier? LOL!)
 
(quarters for the servants. the male and female servants quarters are separated by a wall)
 
(look at how intricate the design is at the top :)) )
(who don't want to own a garden like this :) ) (i definitely wish to own one as big as this!)
 
(selfie time!)
 
(on our way out of Huwon, look at the sky!! thank goodness it didn't rain! it was all sunny and make our photos look so much better :) )
 
(trying to be artist for these 2 pics ) Not so successful huh?
 
Address
99, Yulgok-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
서울특별시 종로구 율곡로 99 (권농동)
Huwon(Secret Garden guided tour timing)
(Duration: 90min)
Korean: 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 14:30, 15:00, 16:00, 16:30
English: 11:30, 15:30
Japanese: 10:30, 13:30, 16:15 (60min)
Chinese: 12:30
Directions
Anguk Station (Subway Line 3), Exit 3.
Go straight for 5min. (easier route I think?)
OR
Jongno 3(sam)-ga Station (Subway Line 1, 3 or 5), Exit 7.
Go straight along Donhwamun-ro Street for 10min.
Jongmyo Shrine (종묘 [유네스코 세계문화유산])
Background: Jongmyo Shrine was built by Lee Seong Gye (1335-1408), the first king and founding father of the Joseon Dynasty. It was a primary place of worship for kings throughout the Joseon Dynasty and has been registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site for its well-preserved ancient customs such as memorial services and traditional music.
As mentioned earlier, we tried to go back for the guided tour to enter Jongmyo Shrine, but we missed the last English tour already!
Since Korean tour was the very last guided tour of the day and we didn’t want to come back on another day we went ahead and joined the Korean group who had started like minutes ago! (Joke of the day, make so many trip in the end still didn’t get the correct tour :()
So we didn’t understand a single thing throughout the tour :( the only word that I think both of us understand was왕 (wang) aka King. So she was like saying something, something then왕 and the cycle repeats. But at least we still have a guide book provided by the palace!     
(King's attire)
 
(most of the King are placed inside? or was it the Queen and King?
 
(ZH looks like she is having fun on the tile, but nope, cause we were told not to step on some of these stone trails, but it is meant for the Royal Spirit ?)
Many parts of Jongmyo Shrine were closed; I think it was caused that is where the Kings are placed? Or were they closed for renovation?
Despite that they are still very pretty! Based on the picture on the ticket, the palaces and the Shrine should be gorgeous if I were to visit them in the winter!! :)
( Ok, i know this is random, but just wanted to take a picture like this, to get the feel~ )
 
(See the sign board? This is the one that tells us not to step, so do be careful ! :))
Guided Tours
Korean - 9 times a day / 09:20 - 16:20 (every hour), 17:00 (Mar. to Sep. only)
English - 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00
Japanese - 09:00, 09:40, 10:40, 11:40, 12:40, 13:40, 14:40, 15:40, 16:40 (Mar. to Sep. only)
Chinese - 11:00, 15:00
Address
157, Jongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul-si
서울 종로구 종로 157
Directions
Jongno-3(sam)-ga Station (Subway Line 1), Exit 11
10-min walk from station.
OR
Jongno-3(sam)-ga Station (Subway Line 3, 5), Exit 8.
10-min walk from station.
We didn’t manage to go to the last palace that was within the integrated ticket package: Changgyeonggung Palace (창경궁), due to the lack of time as we need to prepare for our final exams already :(
But we accidentally went to another Royal Residence (small palace) (Unhyeongung Royal Residence) after visiting Jongmyo Shrine (nearby as well!) which was free (only on that day, hehe, not bad right, quite lucky at times huh?) :), so kind of compensate the regret that we didn’t manage to go Changyeonggung? Managed to catch some Korean historical act for a short while as well, because we need to make a trip down to Dongdaemun for some mid-night shopping! 
(mandatory entrance photo for both of us!)
  
(they have Hanbok (palace related one, so you can even choose to be the King or Queen!
you can rent it at 3000 won, and walk around the palace to take photos!!)
(how the Queen would dress like!)
(Wedding costumes for King and Queen!)
(a cultural show is on for that day!!)
( i think it was about spirit and stuff. couldn't understand much after the english introduction)
 
(didn't finish the show since we were rushing off for midnight shopping at Dongdaemun!)
Address
464, Samil-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul
서울특별시 종로구 삼일대로 464 (운니동)
Directions
Anguk Station (Seoul Subway Line 3) Exit 4
50m from station
OR
Jongno 3-ga Station (Seoul Subway Line 5) Exit 4
Go 300m towards Anguk Station
Notices
* The palace will offer free admission starting on March 20, 2014 in accordance with the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s partial revision of the Local Cultural Heritage Protection Act.
We went to Deoksugung Palace (덕수궁) as well on one of the weekday after school (part of the package as well) it was the only palace that is even open at night! The night lighting gave the palace a different vibes compared to the others! 
(opposite view of Deoksugung, love how modern and the past are so blended in Korea)
(this is City Hall by the way.)
 We even managed to catch a culture show as they were hosting the once a week culture event for that month of July! (Lucky us! hehe) (photos spam!)   
(emo acting time, failed attempt, yes, again :( )
 
(see how the palace glow at night!! Love the lighting but hate my phone camera quality :( )
  
(korea traditional dance performance! Very experienced dancer! )
(Inside Deoksugung there are National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Deoksugung [MMCA Deoksugung] (국립현대미술관 덕수궁관)
(it was too dark for us to take any photos and the museum is closed, so maybe should arrive abit earlier and stay there till night time to experience palace in its night form! )
(both photos taken from VisitKorea website, i didn't take any :( )
  
(bye pretty palace that glows at night >.<)
Address
57, Namdaemun-ro 1-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
서울 중구 세종대로 99
Operating Hours
09:00 - 21:00 (Ticketing 09:00 - 20:00)
- Junghwajeon Hall is open to the public every Saturday and Sunday from 09:00 to 16:00, starting from May 1, 2010.
Directions
City Hall Station (Seoul Subway Line 1, 2), Exit 2.
Even though we have missed out Changgyeonggung(창경궁), there is no harm knowing a little bit more about it!! Some background about this:
Changgyeonggung Palace was first built by the 4th ruler of the Joseon Dynasty, King Sejong (r.1418-1450), for his retiring father, King Taejong. It often served as residential quarters for queens and concubines. During the reign of King Seongjong (r.1469-1494), the palace was renovated and renamed to Changgyeonggung Palace.
(photo taken from Visitkorea Site)
Address
185, Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
서울특별시 종로구 창경궁로 185 (와룡동)
Directions
Hyehwa Station (Seoul Subway Line 4), Exit 3.
Go 20m and then turn left at Seoul Jongno Pharmacy (서울종로약국).
Go 180m and then turn left at Jeongmin Onnuri Pharmacy (정민온누리약국)
Go 200m and then turn left.
Go 60m and then cross the road to arrive at Changgyeonggung Palace.
Oh before I forgot there is just one more major palace that is not within the integrated package (cause it is already free) - Gyeonghuigung Palace (경희궁)
(photo taken from Visitkorea Site)
Background: During the latter half of the Joseon period, Gyeonghuigung served as the secondary palace for the king. Situated on the west side of Seoul, it was also called Seogwol, literally meaning 'a palace of the west'. The secondary palace is usually the palace where the King moves to in times of emergency.
Address
55, Saemunan-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
서울 종로구 새문안로 55 (신문로)
Directions
Get off at Seodaemun Subway Station (Subway Line 5), Exit #4, and go straight 150 meters up to the Naeil Newspaper Office on the corner and turn right there. It will take about 10 minutes on foot.
Well, that is more of less most of the palaces in Seoul, or at least those that we have been! (If time constraint just chooses Gyeongbokgung will be better, I guess?)
That is all for now!
Till I am back again!
Yingying♪♫
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