Gyeongbokgung Palace Seoul Korea

A trip to Seoul in South Korea would not be complete without a visit to this historical landmark the Gyeongbokgung Palace. Located in northern Seoul, South Korea, the palace was first constructed in 1394 and was the main and largest palace of the Five Grand Palaces built by the Joseon Dynasty. I got this information from wikipedia by the way. 

Gyeongbokgung Palace Seoul Korea
Beautiful and huge Gyeongbokgung Palace

Gyeongbokgung Palace
Directions
1. Use exit #5 of Gyeongbokgung Station (Subway Line #3),
2. From Exit #2 of Ganghwamun Station (Subway Line #5), walk 400 meters
Closed: Every Tuesday
Operating Hours: March to October 09:00-18:00 / November to February 09:00-17:00 


Gyeongbokgung Palace Seoul Korea
Integrated admission

The actual place itself is divided into three, namely the Gyeongbokgung Palace, the National Palace Museum of Korea and the National Folk Museum of Korea. Inside the main palace itself there is up to four and more buildings and structures that make up Gyeongbokgung Palace. We were lucky that evening as the timing was perfect to witness a traditional show of ancient Korean guards "shift" change. Check out some of the photos I managed to capture of the Korean guards. 

Gyeongbokgung Palace Seoul Korea
Guards in traditional Korean uniforms in red and blue doing their thing
Gyeongbokgung Palace Seoul Korea
Looking real smart and all
Gyeongbokgung Palace Seoul Korea
In front of Gyeongbokgung Palace
sexy girl in front of Gyeongbokgung Palace Seoul Korea
Momentarily distracted

It was all good, as after the performance, I got to explore Gyeongbokgung Palace and it's various structures by myself. The thing that attracted my attention was the intricate designs of the palace, coupled with the fact that this was a historical spot with centuries of life kept within its walls.

Gyeongbokgung Palace Seoul Korea
Inside the shrine

A brief history on this place is in order. I was actually surprised to hear that the structure itself was destroyed by fire at the time of Japanese occupation from 1592-1598. However, all of the palace's 7,700 rooms were later restored under the leadership of Heungseondaewongun during the reign of King Gojong (1852~1919)
 
Gyeongbokgung Palace Seoul Korea
Structures in and around Gyeongbokgung Palace



Done with exploring Gyeongbokgung Palace, I went ahead to check out the National Folk Museum of Korea beside the palace. The museum was rather interesting with a huge number of  historical artifacts being displayed. Visitors were prohibited to snap photos inside the museum though, so below would be the few photos I managed to secretly capture.

The National Folk Museum of Korea
The National Folk Museum of Korea
The National Folk Museum of Korea
Historical artifacts, excluding me of course
The National Folk Museum of Korea
Some of the statues outside
Isaac Tan in Korea
Not exactly sure what this statue is, but it looks kind of ancient to me

Like what I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the Gyeongbokgung Palace is one of the top tourist attraction in Seoul, South Korea so be sure to visit this landmark if you're traveling to South Korea. I was glad I had the opportunity to experience the palace first hand. Currently I'm still in the midst of digging up my travel photos, so be sure to catch a couple more writeups of my experiences overseas when it comes up.



Comments

  1. Spotted two chicks... indeed distracting. Btw I didn't know you went to Korea recently.

    colourless opinions™

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  2. I was there. A long long time ago. My missus had her photo taken wearing the traditional costume. I did not want as it was that blue soldier's outfit - not nice at all...

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  3. oh since when you went to korea?? how nice, this palace looks so "tang dynasty" right?? i also want to go to korea~~~

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  4. been there..a must-visit

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  5. haha! a nice palace weyy! just like those I saw in Korean dramas :)

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  6. they change so much already..

    i just enjoy the weather there..ehhe

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  7. You know I love to read when comes to travel post. It's not that I hate food post, because I on diet currently. Read too much of your food post, sure my diet plan fail =P
    I'd been to here too last year September and the entrance fee was free when we were there due to Thanksgiving Day. Hehehe.. At here also I managed to wear hanbok, Korean traditional costume.

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  8. how long ago is this post supposedly to be updated? hahahah! You look so young and slim ehhh! xDDD

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  9. my hubby always says South Korea has so much to see. was these photos taken years ago? hmmm..you nampak muda ;)

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  10. hey come on...post up la the photo you wear their tradisional baju. Sure have take that photo right? Wanna see how u look.

    ReplyDelete

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