Friday 27 October 2023

Seoul

It's hard to believe my travels are winding down and I will be heading home to Tucson in two more days. I will be passing eastward over the International Dateline this time and will arrive in Los Angeles several hours before I left Seoul. But for now it's back to Wednesday.

Wednesday 25 October

I really am limited in what I can accomplish each day because I just don't move as fast as I used to. I can still walk 8 to 10 miles a day on flat surfaces, but hills and steep steps are a bummer. And I can't move at the pace I used to, even when just walking. So I limit my tourist goals to one or two per day. That's getting old for you.

Today's goal is two adjoining royal palaces. Palaces in Korea are not single buildings, but large campuses with many buildings serving both governmental and royal family purposes. I first visit Changdeokgun. Originally built in 1405, the original palace was destroyed by many wars and multiple fires. What I see today is a mix of original and reproduction architecture. There is little to see inside the buildings, but the structure and detail on the outside is quite interesting.

The visitor enters the compound through a majestic wooden gate, Donhwamun (1608), 

followed by an arched stone bridge and a second large gate leading into the inner compound.

Second Gate from the Inside (left) and Outside (right)

The painted wooden decoration on the gates, while somewhat faded, still shows the design skills of the original artists:

Sometimes smaller gates are more impressive than larger ones:

The first courtyard leads to the large Throne Hall with its colorful decoration:

The Queen's Residence stands behind the Throne Hall:

Visiting locals and tourists dress up in rented historical Korean costumes for picture-taking:

The most recently constructed section of the palace was still occupied by members of the royal family during the 19th century. Some of its details look like very early modern design. This building retains the look of natural wood and stone, unlike the painted and highly-decorated older sections of the palace.

Because the fourth Wednesday of every month is a National Culture Day, Changdeokgun and other sites require no admission fees. As a result I can walk from this palace right into the smaller and simpler palace, Changgyeonggung, right next door down a winding pathway (instead of taking a very steep flight of stairs).

Changgyeonggung was originally built in 1483 and destroyed by the Japanese at the end of the 16th century. It was rebuilt in 1616 and has remained mostly intact since then.

The View of Changgyeonggung Palace from the Upper Pathway (left); the Stairs I Didn't Take (right)

The People's Central Courtyard

The Main Gate--Most Ornate Structure at the Palace

One more photo stop on the way back to the hotel--Sungnyemun City Gate--stuck in the middle of traffic.

One of my readers has complained there are too many temple photos and not enough "city" photos. First, there isn't much that is worth picture-taking in Kyoto other than the temples and other historic sites. And second, I did offer a few Osaka city photos. But I will remedy that lack in the next two blog entries from Seoul.