Gyeongbokgung

Gyeongbokgung (Korean: 경복궁; Hanja: 景福宮; pronounced [kjʌŋbok̚k͈uŋ]) is a former royal palace in Seoul, South Korea. Established in 1395, it was the first royal palace of the Joseon dynasty, and is now one of the most significant tourist attractions in the country. The palace was among the first landmarks to be established in Seoul. It flourished under the 1418–1450 reign of Sejong the Great; Sejong led the creation of the native Korean script Hangul at the palace. In 1592, amidst the Imjin War, the palace was completely burned down. Plans to repair the palace fell through amidst funding shortages after the war. It would not be restored until the late 19th century, during the reign of the penultimate monarch Gojong. In 1910, Japan colonized Korea. As the palace was a symbol of the Korean monarchy's authority, Japan systematically demolished and altered it. Almost all of its around 500 structures were sold off and shipped elsewhere; by the 1945 liberation of Korea, only 40 pre-colonial buildings remained. In their place, modern-style colonial buildings like the Government-General of Chōsen Building were established. After decades of political turmoil and poor economic conditions, significant efforts to restore the palace to its pre-colonial state began in the 1980s. Since then, the 1990–2010 First Gyeongbokgung Restoration Plan and 2008–2045 Second Gyeongbokgung Restoration Plan have resulted in the recreations of dozens of buildings in the palace, with dozens more scheduled for the future. The palace hosts a changing of the guard ceremony twice per day. It contains the National Folk Museum of Korea and the National Palace Museum of Korea. Gyeongbokgung is accessible by the subway station Gyeongbokgung Station. For part of the year, it is open at night. Entrance is free for visitors wearing hanbok (traditional Korean clothing).

Name Gyeongbokgung means 'great blessings palace'. The palace and many of its main structures were named by the Korean official Chŏng Tojŏn around the time of the palace's establishment. Chŏng named the palace in the 10th month of 1395 after the final two characters of a poem from the Classic of Poetry: "already drunk on alcohol, already full of virtue, gentlemen will long enjoy your great blessings" (旣醉以酒 旣飽以德 君子萬年 介爾景福). The palace has also been called Bukgwol (북궐; 北闕; Pukkwŏl; 'north palace'); this term was used in relation to the other palaces in the city.

History

Establishment

After establishing Joseon in 1392 (Korean calendar), the founding king Taejo (r. 1392–1398) began work in establishing a new capital for his state. In the 8th month of 1394, it was decided that Hanyang (now "Seoul") would be the capital. The location of the palace was finalized by the 1st day, 9th month of 1394. Construction began on it in the 12th month. The first phase of the palace's construction was completed on the 25th day, 9th month of 1395. The palace's original scale, while smaller and less developed than its later form, is difficult to precisely determine; varying estimates have been provided, such as it had 390 rooms (칸; k'an) or 755 rooms. On the 28th day, 12th month, Taejo moved into the palace. In 1398, amidst political turmoil, Joseon's capital was changed to Kaegyŏng (now Kaesong), then back to Hanyang in 1405. The palace was abandoned for about ten years. In 1404, King Taejong (r. 1400–1418) ordered that the palace Changdeokgung be established in Hanyang. Upon his return to the city in 1405, he began to reside in that palace. In 1406, he began efforts to repair Gyeongbokgung. Although he repaired and expanded Gyeongbokgung, Taejong functionally avoided it, possibly because he associated it with unpleasant memories of political turmoil. He primarily resided in Changdeokgung instead. Until the Imjin War, Taejong and his successors had Gyeongbokgung as their official palace (법궁; 法宮; pŏpkung), but had secondary palaces (이궁; 離宮; igung) that they often resided in more or moved between.

Before the Imjin War

In 1421, Sejong the Great (r. 1418–1450) made Gyeongbokgung his primary palace. By 1427, he officially moved out of Changdeokgung and into Gyeongbokgung. Sejong greatly renovated and expanded the palace. It was during Sejong's reign that Gyeongbokgung became fully-fledged and functional. Under Sejong, the palace hosted a number of scientific devices, including the water clock Borugak Jagyeongnu, a facility for producing movable type, and the astronomical observatory Ganuidae. The palace was then host to the Hall of Worthies and Ŏnmunch'ŏng, which assisted Sejong in developing Hangul. The palace remained in much the same form from Sejong's reign for around a hundred years.

Destruction and disuse

In 1592, during the 1592–1598 Imjin War, Gyeongbokgung and the other two palaces in the city were completely burned down. It is debated who burned down the palaces. Various contemporary Korean texts, including the Veritable Records of Seonjo, report hearsay that it was Korean commoners who burned down the palace to destroy palace records. However, the palace was still intact when the Japanese invaders entered the city on the 2nd day, 5th month of that year. Japanese discipline in the city was reportedly initially high, but when they began suffering defeats, they took their frustrations out on the city and locals, burning buildings. King Seonjo (r. 1567–1608) had fled the city before the Japanese had entered it. After he returned to Hanyang, he ordered that plans for the Gyeongbokgung's reconstruction be drawn up. However, Joseon's economy was still recovering from the devastating war and finances were tight; Gyeongbokgung's reconstruction was indefinitely postponed and the state's resources were mostly focused on rebuilding Changdeokgung. For around 270 years afterwards, Gyeongbokgung went mostly unused and undeveloped. Over time, various kings expressed interest in rebuilding the palace, but did not act on this, due to financial constraints and the other palaces in the city being sufficient.

Reconstruction

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