Korea tourist destination #6 Gyeonghuigung Palace

 Gyeonghuigung Palace  

Gyeonghuigung Palace was a secondary palace in the late Joseon dynasty. Its construction started in 1617 (9th year of Prince Gwanghae’s reign) and was completed in 1623 (15th year of Prince Gwanghae’s reign).
Before Gyeonghuigung Palace was constructed, there was a house owned by Prince Jeongwon, father of King Injo, and a story has been passed down that the house was confiscated and the palace was built as there was a rumor that the place emanated royal energy. While Gyeonghuigung’s original name was Gyeongdeokgung, it was renamed Gyeonghuigung in 1760 (36th year of King Yeongjo's reign) as it was pronounced similar to King Wonjong’s posthumous name "Gyeongdeok."

The Seoul Metropolitan Government excavated the Gyeonghuigung site since 1987, restored buildings including Sungjeongjeon Hall, and open them to citizens since 2002.

 

  History of  Gyeonghuigung Palace  

Initially, it was built as a palace where the king left the palace and evacuated in case of emergency. Because the palace was large and many kings saw the government in this palace, the palace was called the Western Palace and was regarded as important.

This palace was founded in 1617 (Gwanghae-gun 9). At that time, Gwanghae-gun, reluctant to call Changdeokgung Palace, built a new palace in the streets, and built Ingyeonggung under Inwangsan Mountain. However, when he heard that Wangki stood in the old house of Jeongwon-gun again, he built a palace there and called it Gyeongdeokgung.

However, Gwanghae-gun retired from the throne with Injo Banjeong without joining the palace, and eventually the throne was handed over to the eldest son of jeongwongun, and he was Injo.

When Injo was enthroned, Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung were all burned down due to the rebellion of Injobanjeong and igwal.

Even after the restoration of Changdeokgung Palace and Changgyeonggung Palace, several kings stayed in Gyeongdeokgung Palace, and occasionally the royal crowning ceremony was held. In other words, the 19th King Sukjong was born in the recollection of this palace, and his death was also in the convent of the palace. Gyeongjong, the 20th generation, was also born in Gyeongdeokgung Palace, and Yeongjo, the 21st generation, died here.

 

 

The 22nd King Jeongjo ascended king at the Sungjeongmun Gate of this palace, the 23rd King Sunjo died at Hoesangjeon, and the 24th King Heonjong also became king at the Sungjeongmun Gate. In 1760 (36th year of Yeongjo), Gyeongdeokgung, which used to be Gyeonghuigung, was changed to Gyeonghuigung, in order to avoid the sound of the same sound as Wonjong's siho was Gyeongdeok.

When it was built, there were 1,500 buildings including the main hall, Donggung Palace, bed room, Jebyuldang, and the living space of the palace ladies. The construction work began in 1617 and finished in 1620, four years later. Engineers and materials were mobilized from all over the country for this construction.

After that, repairs were made in 1693 (Sukjong 19), and in 1829 (Soonjo 29), there was a big fire, and in 1829 (Soonjo 29), there was a big fire, and about half of the main palaces in the palace such as Hoesangjeon, Congbokjeon, Heungjeongdang, Jeongsigak, Jipgyeongdang, and Sahyeongak. It burned out. The following year, the lost building was rebuilt by installing the Gyeonggi Geondogam.

In 1860 (Cheoljong 11), partial repairs were made, and finally, in 1902 (Gwangmu 6), partial repairs were made. Gyeonghuigung, which was regarded as important as one of the palaces, was completely demolished during the Japanese colonial period, and it completely lost its name as a palace when it was used as a school for the Japanese.

In 1907, a junior high school from the Japanese Ministry of Control was already established on the west side of the palace, and in 1910, the palace was incorporated as state-owned, and in 1915 Gyeongseong Middle School was established at the palace site.

 

 

In this process, the buildings inside the palace were demolished and destroyed or relocated to other places, and the palace station also decreased as various government offices were built around it. After the establishment of the Korean government, this place was used as a Seoul middle and high school, and some of the surrounding land was sold, resulting in fewer palaces.

In June 1980, Seoul High School was relocated to Seocho-gu, and the entire site was sold to a private company.In 1984, a park for citizens was established here, and part of the palace site was excavated and investigated the following year, and opened as a park in 1986. have.

 

  Structure of Gyeonghuigung Palace  

According to 『Gunggwolji』, the layout of the building showed a very different pattern from Gyeongbokgung, the main palace, as the abduction and civil war were placed side-by-side and overall trend.

In other words, Gyeongbokgung Palace is composed of an abduction and a civil war facing south, which is different from that, and it is also unique that the main gate of the palace is located at the right corner. This is a phenomenon seen in Changdeokgung Palace, which was first built as Igung Palace, and it seems to be the result of being intentionally less formal than Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Looking at the composition of each building, first, the maim hall, Sungjeongjeon, was directed from the west to the east of the palace, and the surrounding area was surrounded by a haenggak and doors were placed on all sides.

Behind seongjeonjeon is jajeongjeon, and there is Taeryeongjeon, a temporary residence for the king. To the right of Sungjeongjeon, that is, to the north, is Heungjeongdang, where the king meets officials and holds lectures, and there are Johnhyeongak and Seogeumgak as places where the king reads.

There is a civil war on the right side of the central halls that make up the outer palace, and the front is the recollection. There are Yongbokjeon Hall on the west side, a special guest room on the east and west side, and a pond and jukjeong in the vicinity. To the east of Yongbokjeon is Jangnakjeon, where the Empress is enshrined, and there are pavilions and ponds called Yongbi and Bongsang in the vicinity, and Gwangmyeongjeon, a banquet hall, is located on the east side.

There are five external entrances to the palace, and the main gate is Heunghwamun in the northeast corner. After all, Gyeonghuigung's main gate is at the northeast corner, so it shows a special arrangement and composition in which the main hall of the outer palace at the west end reaches the area surrounded by a single wall after entering the main gate, passing in front of the civil war.

 

  Gyeonghuigung's destruction and restoration  

Gyeonghuigung had numerous palace architectures, but during the Japanese colonial period, most of the buildings disappeared as a Japanese middle school was built in the palace, and some of them were relocated to other places, and some buildings remain until now. First of all, if you look at the existing buildings, there are Heunghwamun, the main gate of Sungjeongjeon, and Hakjeong Hwang, the pavilion of patronage.

Sungjeongjeon Hall was sold to Jogyesa Temple in 1926 and is now located on the campus of Dongguk University. It is a style building in which a Chinese character eight-shaped tile roof is mounted on a pillar on a single floor with 5 units in the front and 4 units in the side.

Since its inception in 1618, the building itself has not suffered any disasters, so it can be considered to have retained the architectural style of the middle Joseon Dynasty. Horizontal mokneun is exported outside the neck, the inside is reinforced with a ceiling member in a short format for reinforcing the texture of the beam, the sustained neoljogak fitting to receive a stroke jangyeo the jukan.

Heunghwamun was also built in 1618, and the original building was preserved, but it was relocated in 1932 and used as the gate of the Japanese temple, Parkmunsa, and moved to its present location in 1988 as part of the restoration plan of Gyeonghuigung Palace. , Has been restored.

It is a single-story Ujingak tiled roof with 3 compartments in the front and 2 compartments on the side. The main gates of Gyeongbokgung Palace, Changdeokgung Palace, and Changgyeonggung Palace all consisted of two floors, but this building only had a single story, which is said to be because the palace was provided as a refuge when the palace was founded.

Hwang Hakjeong is a pavilion built in the north of Hoesangjeon in 1890 (Gojong 27). It was sold to civilians in 1923 and is now moved to the back of Sajik Park in Sajik-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.

This building was originally built as an archery practice site for unmanned people, but since the Gab-O-gyeongjang, archery has been abolished, and it was built inside the palace because it was regrettable for the private sector to play as a joke.

 

Other important buildings of Gyeonghuigung were the Hoesangjeon Hall, the Yongbokjeon Hall, the Jipgyeongdang Hall, and the Heungjeong Hall. All of these buildings lost their mark during the Japanese colonial period, but if you look at the scale only through 『Seogwiyeonggeondogamuigwe』 It was a tiled-roofed building that did not have a yongmaluleul on the roof like Tongmyeongjeon in Changgyeonggung Palace.