*Please note that often I post a few weeks after I’ve taken the trip or had the experience. In this case, my trip to South Korea took place in early March. While tensions were mounting with North Korea at that time, they were nothing like they are today! Although tourism in South Korea continues to boom in spite of Kim Jung Un’s threats, I may have restructured my trip if it were to have occurred in the last week or two…
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After leaving Tokyo, I went to Seoul, South Korea for a few days! One of my first outings was to the Changdeokgung Palace. It was a cool winter/spring day and I had the opportunity to tour both the main palace and the adjoining secret garden. Both were beautiful and historic!
What stood out to me most about these beautiful buildings was the painting – mostly in the eves and ceilings, inside and out, but also on the walls and sometimes even furniture.
Although built in the 15th century, the buildings were largely destroyed during the Japanese occupation during WW2, but have since been rebuilt and restored. Now the palace complex is even a UNESCO World Heritage Site – similar to the Banaue Rice Terraces we visited earlier.
On the tops of the buildings – on the corners – there are little sculptures representing guardians of the palace. Different buildings have different numbers of guardians depending on the purpose of the buildings and while worn down by weather, they still have considerable character.
Even the gardens contained beautifully painted pavilions and buildings. The garden area was used as a retreat for royals and a quiet space to meditate, study, and reflect. It contained cottages to stay in, little ponds to sit by, a library, and many other little buildings I wasn’t sure of their purpose! Although right in the middle of the bustling city, upon entering the gardens, it grew quiet and peaceful in the same way as being in a remote national park. It was quite spectacular.
Even these contained amazing painting and vibrant colors.
On my tours, I met a fellow American, exploring Seoul on her own. We went to lunch together and tried some traditional Korean food. We sat on the floor, at a low table, and ate seafood soup and a seafood pancake. The pancake is my favorite! It’s structured sort of a cross between a frittata and a pizza and tastes like neither. I don’t even know how to describe it’s taste but I recommend that you go to your local Korean restaurant and ask for them to make you one! It’s delicious!
One fun fact… traditionally, Koreans heat their buildings from the floor. Heaters run underneath the floor boards and the heat rises through the floor, into the room. The warmest place to be then is actually on the floor. This is why it is customary to take off your shoes and sit on the floor. In the old palaces, the floors were made of stone, with a space for air to circulate between the stone floor and the building foundation. Fires were built adjacent to the palace and the hot air and smoke were funneled underneath the house, thus heating the stone and the building. Now, of course, technological advancement has led to other ways of heating the floors, but often that is still the desired method for heating a living space. Pretty cool, right?
More Than Postcards 