Gyeongbokgung Palace

We wanted to see one of the palaces in the Palace District of Seoul, and decided to go to the Gyeongbokgung Palace.  This palace is said to be the largest of all the palaces.  It was originally built in 1395!!  We took the subway to the Gyeongbokgung station and took exit 5, which dumped us out right in front of the side entrance to the palace.  As we exited the subway we were greeted with the banging of drums and the sounds of whining horns.  The kids ran ahead as they could see a colorful display of commotion a few hundred years ahead in the center of the courtyard.  

We arrived just in time to see the changing of the guard ceremony.  There were men with flags, some with a variety of drums, some with horns and some with weapons.  They were all dressed in rich colors of reds, blues and yellow.  There were two groups of men, one group was the band with the instruments.  There was another group with the flags, which marched around men with weapons.  The captain of the guard was on top of a tower wall commanding the men on what to do.  There was also a women over a loud speaker explaining what we were watching.  She would talk in Korean and then in English.  When the ceremony was over, they opened the courtyard back up for the tourist to walk around.  We bought our tickets then went to the front of the gate.

There were guards posted at the front of the gate.  They were standing there with their weapons just waiting for that picture perfect moment.  We were able to snap a quick family photo before the guards did a quick march around the front of the palace doors and through the doorway.  There was an amazing breeze through the main doorway, so we planted ourselves along the wall and sat down and ate some snacks and drank water. 

While sitting against the walls, the guards would do their rounds right past us.  The kids enjoyed a nice refreshing snack with a great show.  They especially loved the painting that was on the main entry hall ceiling.  We couldn’t tell if it was a donkey or a horse.  What do you think?

At 11:00 we joined the free-guided English tour of the palace.  We were able to learn that during the Japanese invasion in the 1590’s the palace was destroyed by fire.  It was later renovated.  The palace name means, “greatly blessed by heaven”.  On a clear day you can see Mount Namsan in front of the palace and Mount Bugaksan in its rear.  We were lucky enough to have a somewhat clear sky and were able to make out the mountain to the rear! 

This palace is huge!  There is an outer wall, and then to get to the main palace you have to pass through three gates.  The gates get a little larger until you get to the main building which is absolutely huge!!  We were able to see the king's quarters and the queen's quarters.  Kevin and I were in awe at how little was in the quarters.  Here the king has a gigantic palace, yet all he has is a cushion on the floor to sleep on and a small table he would sit on the floor at.  It made us really reflect at how luxury and unnecessary we live as Americans.  We have so many things that are completely unnecessary and just frivolous.

One of my most favorite places was where the King would have his parties and ceremonies for his army.  It was the huge hall in the middle of a man made lake.  It was so extremely beautiful!  The flowers and the trees made everything so green and colorful.  This was where we could see the rear mountain.  The kids came back to this courtyard three times!

The walkways were all cobblestone, which made having a stroller super hard.  Kevin ended up carrying the stroller around everywhere.  It was a super hot and sunny day, so when little Monster fell asleep, Kevin parked the stroller at the top of the throne room where a nice breeze cooled him and the little Monster off.  I went ahead and finished the tour with the girls. We ended by going to the gift shop and picking up a magnet to add to our  “Oh the places you will go” wall!