Deoksugung Palace

Daehanmun, the main gate of the palace

• Established: c. 1592; 1611; 1897
• Other Names: 慶運宮 (Gyeongungung)
• Korean: 徳壽宮 (Deoksugung)

Deoksugung, in Seoul, was a secondary royal palace of the Korean kingdom of Joseon, and the chief imperial palace of the short-lived Korean Empire.

Joseon

When the Joseon royal palaces were destroyed in the 1592 samurai invasions of Korea, King Seonjo (r. 1567-1608) relocated to a collection of mansions of royal relatives and high-ranking court officials, making this site a kingly royal palace for the first time, albeit a temporary one. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi's armies were defeated and driven out of Korea, Changdeokgung Palace was built as the new main royal palace. In 1611, Prince Gwanghae (acting occupant of the throne, r. 1608-1623), relocated to the newly-built Changdeokgung, renaming Seonjo's temporary palace Gyeongungung (慶運宮, "Carrying Congratulation Palace") and making it one of his secondary palaces.

As in royal, imperial, and shogunal palaces across the region, the southern gate of Gyeongungung Palace was the main gate. It was known as Inhwamun (仁化門, "Gate of Becoming Humane").

Great Han Empire

Gyeongungung then served only a secondary role for several hundred years, until in 1897 King (Emperor) Gojong (r. 1863-1907) made it his primary imperial palace, as he declared the establishment of the Great Han Empire. Gojong then oversaw the construction of a number of new buildings, some in a traditional Korean style and others in a Western-inspired modern style, expanding the palace complex.

Prior to this, in the 1880s, numerous foreign legations and diplomatic residences were built in the area immediately surrounding the palace, an area known as Jeongneung-dong. This limited the expansion of the palace somewhat, but the complex nevertheless came to surround and surpass the American, British, and Russian legations.

Empire of Japan

Korea became a protectorate of the Empire of Japan in 1905 and then a colony in 1910; Gojong formally abdicated the throne and declared the end of the Korean Empire in 1907, retaining Gyeongungung as his retirement palace and renaming it Deoksugung (Virtue and Fortune Palace). At this time, the eastern-facing gate, known as Daeanmun (大安門, "Great Tranquility Gate"), was renamed Daihanmun (大漢門, "Great Korea Gate") and made the main gate of the palace.

As Japanese colonial authorities altered and developed Seoul, they demolished a number of the palace buildings to make way for widened city streets. Roughly one-third of what remained - areas known as Seonwonjeon and Jungmyeongjeon - was then sold off. More buildings were demolished in 1933, and what still remained was made a public park.

Today

Today, the center of the palace grounds, known as Junghwajeon, along with several Western-style buildings, survive and are maintained as a historic site.

As at other Korean palaces, the main gate leads directly to a small bridge; crossing the bridge was seen as symbolically purifying those who crossed over the water, as they entered into the palace complex.

References

• Plaques on-site.[1]