Gyeongbokgung
Gyeongbokgung 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.
Name
Gyeongbokgung means. 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".The palace has also been called Bukgwol ; this term was used in relation to the other palaces in the city.
History
Establishment
After establishing Joseon in 1392, the founding king Taejo began work in establishing a new capital for his state. In the 8th month of 1394, it was decided that Hanyang 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 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, then back to Hanyang in 1405. The palace was abandoned for about ten years.
In 1404, King Taejong 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, but had secondary palaces that they often resided in more or moved between.
Before the Imjin War
In 1421, Sejong the Great 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. The palace was then host to the Hall of Worthies and, 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 , 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 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
On the 2nd day, 4th month of 1865, Queen Sinjeong, regent of the penultimate Korean monarch King Gojong, ordered that the palace be reconstructed. Construction began on the 13th day of that month. Gojong and the royal family moved into the palace on the 2nd day, 7th month of 1868. Construction continued until 1873.The palace experienced a major fire on the 10th day, 12th month of 1873. After delays due to financial restraints, reconstruction began on the 27th day, 3rd month of 1875. Gojong returned to Gyeongbokgung on the 27th day, 5th month of that year, and repairs concluded on the 3rd day, 6th month. However, on the 4th day, 11th month of 1876, another major fire broke out. It caused more than twice as much damage as its predecessor. Gojong was exasperated by the fires, and relocated to Changdeokgung. Reconstruction on Gyeongbokgung began in 1881. Gojong did not return to Gyeongbokgung until 1884, after the Kapsin Coup. In 1887, the first electric light in Korea was turned on in Gyeongbokgung. Reconstruction was finally completed in 1888.
Meanwhile, the palace and Korea experienced significant political turmoil. In 1895, the Korean Queen Min was assassinated by Japanese agents at in the palace. Afterwards, Gojong fled to the Russian legation for protection in 1896.
Korean Empire period
Rather than return to Gyeongbokgung, where Min had been assassinated, Gojong chose to make Gyeongungung his primary residence for its proximity to various foreign legations, which he believed could help protect him from Japan. He then declared the establishment of the Korean Empire. Thereafter, Gyeongbokgung was not significantly used by Gojong. In 1905, Japan began indirectly ruling Korea, and in 1907, Gojong was forced to abdicate in lieu of his son, Sunjong. Sunjong began to use Changdeokgung as his main palace.In 1907, even before annexing Korea, Japan made Gyeongbokgung into a public park. Under pressure from Japan, the government began auctioning off the palace's property to the public in 1910, just before Korea was annexed. Mostly Japanese people bought the buildings and had them sent elsewhere.
Colonial period
Gyeongbokgung, as a symbol of the Korean monarchy's authority, was systematically dismantled by the Japanese colonial government. It is estimated that the palace had around 500 buildings in 1888; by the end of the colonial period, only 40 of those buildings remained. The palace was rapidly modified in anticipation of the 1915 Chōsen Industrial Exhibition; dozens of buildings were sold off and demolished. One such building, Jaseondang, was reassembled in the private home of Japanese businessman Ōkura Kihachirō in Tokyo. More exhibitions continued to be held at the palace afterward, including the 1929 Chōsen Exhibition.On June 25, 1916, the colonial government began symbolically constructing their new headquarters in the palace: the Government-General of Chōsen Building. Construction would last for around 10 years, until October 1, 1926. The various construction projects in the palace drew from an eclectic mix of modern Western architectural styles. This has been evaluated as attempting to portray Japan as modernizing and open, and Korea as backward and closed.
On November 10, 1917, a major fire at Changdeokgung destroyed much of that palace. The colonial government ordered that many of Gyeongbokgung's buildings be moved to Changdeokgung. In 1938, the final pre-colonial building west and south of Geunjeongjeon, an office building for the, was demolished.
Liberation to First Republic
Soon after the August 1945 liberation of Korea, the palace continued to be used much as it had been during the colonial period. Voices advocated for the restoration and maintenance of the palace, but these went largely unheeded amidst the chaos of the liberation and division of Korea, as well as the establishment of the United States Army Military Government in Korea. In September 1945, the USAMGIK headquartered itself in the Government-General of Chōsen Building in the palace. That building continued to be used for important functions through the rest of the 1940s, including for a ceremony for the establishment of South Korea.During the 1950–1953 Korean War, the palace was heavily damaged and even looted. It was only on December 19, 1952, that the Ministry of Culture and Education established a committee to assess and repair the country's historic assets. Even then, maintenance of historical assets was considered a lesser priority compared to restoring the country's basic social services like primary education. After some repairs to the palace, it was reopened to the public in January 1953.