Sightseeing in Seoul: Gyeongbok Palace (경복궁)

Yuma and me arrived in South Korea by boat in Busan yesterday, and after a short trip by train we arrived in Seoul. Our first whole day in Seoul was spent on sightseeing in some of the more famous part of town starting with the Gyeoungbok palace (Also known as Gyeoungbokgung, 경복궁 in Korean). 
Although this palace was firstly constructed in 1394 it has had a rough history; for instancemost of the palace was burned down and left in ruins during the years of the Japanese invasion (1592-1598) .

One of the main gates of the palace

I have already visited quite a lot of temples in Japan, so I did somehow imagine that the Korean palace probably weren’t going to be that big. It turns out I was mistaken though, there were a lot of temple buildings and we spent many hours looking through all the area. Along with the entrance to the temple area you also get free entrance to the National Folk Museum of Korea as well, so if you want to see it all you better have some time to spend. Here are some of my photos from the palace:

A palace guard

Yuma and one of the palace guards

A close-up of some of the statues

The inside of one of the buildings

Some details from the ceiling in Gyeongbok Palace

More details from the palace

Another picture from the palace area

A circle with statues showing the 12 Chinese zodiac animals

One of the few structures still standing from the 19th century: The Hyangwonjeong Pavilion

Yuma and me in front of the pavilion

A lady in traditional clothing

Some drummers holding a performance

A colorful drum in front of one of the palace buildings

Some more palace guards

  

About Anette
Anette came to Japan as an exchange student in 2010, met the love of her life and got stuck. From her base in Tokyo she writes about her experiences as a full-time worker in Tokyo and about her travels in Japan and abroad. She's a free-spirited adventurer who enjoys both the great outdoors and her urban lifestyle.