Sunday, December 27, 2015

SEOUL Random 08: The Palace 宮

there are a few palaces in Seoul

and I opted for Gyeongbokgung 景福宮

 

despite it is yet to be enlisted as an

UNESCO Heritage Site

like her sister palace

Changdeokgung 昌德宮

 

as the main palace

Gyeongbok Palace is

the largest and popular among all

 

speaking of which

I kinda regretted the decision right now

as UNESCO enlisted Changdeok Palace

instead of Gyeongbok Palace

obviously due to a list of

specific justifications of theirs

 

it’s okay!

let’s move on

 

“King Sejong (1392-1910) 世宗王

King Sejong is best remembered as

the inventor of Hangeul,

the Korean alphabet.”

the Statue of King Sejong - Visitkorea website

the Statue of King Sejong

 

“During his reign, he consolidated the basis

for ruling the Joseon Dynasty by

incorporating Confucian philosophy of politics.

Furthermore, he led the nation's great strides

in agriculture, literature,

science and technology.”

the Statue of King Sejong - Visitkorea website

the Statue of King Sejong

 

right across the road

Gyeongbokgung 景福宮Gyeongbokgung 景福宮

 

that is something interesting

what my dad has been wishing for

at Forbidden City is getting realized

Gyeongbokgung 景福宮

 

somehow familiar

this should be it

being a fanatic fan of

oriental roof

P1310361P1310362Gyeongbokgung 景福宮Gyeongbokgung 景福宮

 

frankly speaking

i hardly flipped the book

as the Seoul official guidebook

is proven to be very very tourist-friendly

download them before departure and

grabb a hard copy at the airport

lonely planet - seoul chinese version

 

of course

from time to time

can’t help comparing it to

Forbidden City

the layout is actually smilar

but obviously of a smaller scale

Gyeongbokgung 景福宮Gyeongbokgung 景福宮P1310382Gyeongbokgung 景福宮Gyeongbokgung 景福宮Gyeongbokgung 景福宮Gyeongbokgung 景福宮

 

on top of the palace guards

one thing i really like about

the palace in Seoul is that

 

the locals take pride in their culture

they come wearing the traditional costume

and they even have

some photography contest for

those dressed up so

Gyeongbokgung 景福宮

 

absolutely lovely

P1310415

 

the royal garden

Gyeongbokgung 景福宮

 

would not wanna miss any chance

to snap photos of the roof

Gyeongbokgung 景福宮Gyeongbokgung 景福宮Gyeongbokgung 景福宮Gyeongbokgung 景福宮

 

the lion, known as Haechi

has been transformed into

the mascot of Seoul

you will see the icon on

each and every cab

Gyeongbokgung 景福宮 Haechi

 

the Haechi display at City Hall stn

the alternative way to get here

and there other display set was

the movie IRIS which was shoot

in front of the Sejeong statue

Haechi the symbol of Seoul

 

guard changing ceremony

Gyeongbokgung 景福宮Gyeongbokgung 景福宮

 

what i actually did

while my fellow travel mates

were busy taking selfie

Gyeongbokgung 景福宮Gyeongbokgung 景福宮

 

The Complete Seoul Random Series

01: Direction to Hyundai Residence

02: Duty Free / Tax Refund

03: The Grocery Craze

04: Foodie as a Dummy (Like Me)

05: 11 Reasons to Book Hyundai Residence

06: Constantly Reminded of Siwon-LiuWen 石榴夫婦

07: Ssamziegel, Insa-dong 人人廣場,仁寺洞

08: The Palace 宮

09: Bukchon Hanok Village 北村

10: Final Shopping Tips