december-2011

From top: A pagoda at Gyeongbokgung
provides a nice backdrop for a photo op;
actors dressed as the king and queen
during a re-enactment.
S EOUL’S GRAND PALACE
There were other things that
suggested this building would be
charmed. For example, the pungsu
(the Korean form of feng shui) couldn’t
have been better: the setting has Mount
Bugaksan guarding the north, and the
Han River auspiciously to the south.
King Taejo may have only been on the
throne for a year or two in 1394, but
he had already established the Joseon
Dynasty (which he never in his wildest
dreams would have expected to last
fi ve centuries) and was looking to settle
down in a suitable residence. Despite
having laid the groundwork for his
new palace in modern-day Daejeon,
some members of his court convinced
him to heed the prophecies of a 10th
century priest named Doseon and make
Hanyang, now Seoul, the capital. So he
sent his builders 150km north — and
moved in to his new pad the following
year. A dozen kings came and went,
and work continued on expanding and
{ 140 }
A dozen kings came and
went, but work continued
and enhanced the palace
until it reached its glory in
the 16th century
enhancing the palace until it reached its
glory in the 16th century.
And then in 1553 it succumbed (as
wooden structures are prone) to an
unguarded fi replace or a carelessly hung
lantern, and most of its 7,700 elegantly
crafted rooms promptly burned down.
Almost immediately, and at great
expense, pavilions were rebuilt for
King Myeongjong. But invading armies
from Japan — who had infl icted
IMAGES
heavy damage across the peninsula —
GETTY
ransacked the place in 1592 and torched
it. The royal court turned its back on the
smoldering rubble. PHOTOS