The largest of the ancient grand palaces in the South Korean capital, Gyeongbok Palace (Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven) is one of my favourite places to visit in Seoul. It is also one of the most historically significant sites in Korea. I find that the palace is very reminiscent of the Forbidden City in Beijing, although on a much smaller scale.
It was a beautiful start to autumn when we visited the area. Leaves began to change from green to other beautiful colours and the leaves covering the ground was a sight to behold.
Entering through one of the inner gateways, the palace takes you through a large square where you can see a fantastic view of the beautiful backdrop of National Folk Museum of Korea. We managed to visit the place too but I'll post them another time.
Within the complex, there are tons of ornate buildings with elaborate colored paintings signifying the
royal power.
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According to my research, the palace was built in 1395 and destroyed twice during Japanese occupation and were later restored 250 years later with additional buildings and architectures. Even now a little scaffolding can be seen.
It's kind of interesting to walk around the palace grounds and imagine how the royal family used to live hundreds of years ago.
Most of the buildings in the palace are quite small but the palace grounds are quite large. I wish I remembered more in detail about this particular building, but there was way too much to be taking in all at once just being there.
Moving along, it's also quite common to see these miniature statues standing on top of historical Korean buildings. Each of them represents a different animal, supposedly portraying an old folk story!
Another impressive building not to be missed is Guenjeongjeon, the main throne hall of Gyeongbok Palace. This is where the King formally meets foreign envoys.
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