Changdeokgung Palace

Injeongjeon Hall
This building, one of the most impressive in all of Korea, was built in 1405 – the fifth year of King TaeJong’s reign.


Changdeokgung Palace

I toured Changdeokgung two weekends ago. Being the most well-preserved palace in Seoul, it seems to be the most picturesque. It’s the one you’ll probably see in most travel guides for Korea.

From photos it’s also hard to believe that it’s located right in the heart of Seoul downtown. The concrete jungles of Asia are just that, but they’re full of oases too.

This one is special in that you can’t really just wander around and hang out there (although we did). You have to stay with a tour group. They’re adamant about controlling the population inside the walls and reducing the impact of tourism.

The highlight of the tour (according to our guide) was the Secret Garden of the King. My friend Jim pointed out that ever since that book came out and became famous, every Korean tour has some kind of “Secret Garden”. So we had a laugh over that one.

I think this officially marks the point where I don’t have to see another palace or temple as long as I stay here. I’ll continue sightseeing missions but I think I’ve had my fill of the palaces. There are three big ones in Seoul and I’ve toured them all now.

When you live in the city for a year, you get to chip away at the sightseeing projects. There is no hurry to rush out and see it all. You also get to laugh at the backpackers running around lost in frantic attempts to do the whole city in 2 days.