A Slice of Korean Dynasties ~ Palaces and Shrines

Hello mga teh! Welcome to the new series of Teh's adventures. This time, samahan si Teh together with my professor turned life mentor, Darlene-sensei, sa adventures namin sa Seoul, South Korea. Pasensya na, backlog ulit. 2013 pa kasi kami pumunta rito. Pero hindi naman siguro sobrang bongga ang difference. (Hopefully para may sense pa ang post na ito para sa inyong nagbabalak tumungo rito. :)

Teh's back! Walling sa Gyeongbokgung Palace.

~ Gwanghwamun Square and Gyeongbokgung Palace ~

Recommended Length of Visit: 3~4 hours

As far as I have read, this palace is the most significant palace among what the locals call as the "Five Grand Palaces". Kaya naman ito ang unang target puntahan nina Teh and Sensei. At sinaglit na rin namin ang Gwanghwamun Square, where the statue of King Sejong, the 4th king of Joseon Dynasty has been established. Sa naaalala ko, tanaw mo agad ang statue paglabas ng train station.

Left: Statue of King Sejong
Right: Entrance to the Gyeongbokgung Palace

Saktong naabutan namin ang munting palabas ng mga Imperial Guards ng palasyo pagdating namin. Hindi lang sigurado ni Teh ang interval, pero sa tantya ko, every 2~3 hours, merong palabas na ganyan. Kasi paglabas ulit namin, meron na naman. At nasaktuhan din naming nakita ang mga batang nakasuot ng Hanbok[1]. Ang cute-cute nila. ^_^

Imperial Guards: Kaliwa~ kaliwa~ kaliwa, kanan, kaliwa~
Teh: (Kilitiin ko kaya mga 'to. Magre-react kaya sila? XD)

Highly recommended, by the way, ang pagbili ng mga entrance tickets na naka-bundle. In our case, bumili kami ng Integrated Palace Tickets. Malaking tipid and valid siya for 1 month. As of 2013, nasa 10,000 KRW siya. Around 400~500 pesos when you convert.

Reminds Teh of Beijing's Forbidden City... 

The main attraction is the center of the palace. Parang sa Forbidden City rin na nagsusumiksik ang mga people para makita ang mga gamit ng hari. Sagrado kasi para sa kanila ang mga gamit ng royalty dahil para sa kanila, diyos ang mga nagiging hari noong unang panahon.

The heart of Gyeongbokgung Palace, sacred to many devotees of the kings.

Sa sobrang lawak ng palasyong ito, hindi maiwasang kung saan-saang sulok kami napapadpad. Pero dahil Autumn, hindi masyadong mainit kaya keri lang maligaw. And look oh, nakakaganda ng paligid ang red maple leaves. Pati 'yung bundok sa background reminded Teh of Beijing. ~_~

When there's another door, there's another chance to get lost.
(Buti na lang may mapa kami...)

Sa totoo lang, mahirap mapansin ang difference ng palace architecture ng China at Korea. Pero if you will notice the smallest detail, doon mapapansin ang difference. Pero dahil walang time at brain cells si Teh para pagkaisipin pa 'yon, picture-picture na lang ang nagawa namin.

Top left and bottom: Lake inside the palace. 
Paano ko matandaan pangalan eh ang hirap bigkasin. -_-
Top right: Playground where you can play sipa and other outdoor games...

The palace seems to house a small community of commoners as well. I think mga palace workers ang nakatira sa area na 'to before.

Looks like a small village inside Gyeongbokgung Palace. Find the emoting Teh. (5 pts.)

~ Jongmyo Shrine ~

Recommended Length of Visit: 30 minutes (fixed, guided tour)

Kamuntik pa kaming hindi makaabot sa last tour available in English (4PM). Shrines, unlike palaces, are regarded as sacred place because they are tombs of great people in history. So tourists cannot just go in and roam around as they like. Also, controlled din ang number of visitors na nasa loob ng Shrine dahil after the guided tour, you really have to leave.

Our tour guide, si Ateng Nakahanbok and the Shrine Entrance.

Ever wondered why there's an elevated walkway whose center is elevated further and bawal siyang tapakan? Lakaran kasi ng royalties 'yan. And the middle one is reserved for the king.

Preparation room of the royalties for ceremonies to be held in the shrine.

Medyo natakot lang si Teh nang kaunti kasi sobrang tahimik ng place. Ramdam mong sementeryo siya. Haha. Awoo~ -.-

Left: Ateng Nakahanbok explaining the ceremonies held in the Shrine.
Right: Main shrine, Jeongjeon, that houses the tablets of the Joseon Dynasty Kings.

Dahil hindi nakapagsuot si Teh ng Hanbok, nag-picture na lang kami ni Ateng Nakahanbok. Salamat sa pag-guide sa amin. :)

Kamsamnida Ateng Nakahanbok. :)

~ East Palaces: Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung + Huwon Secret Garden ~

Recommended Length of Visit: 4~5 hours

Siguro kung tatanungin si Teh kung anong lugar sa Korea ang pinaka-ubos energy, East Palaces ang sagot ko. Sobrang lawak ng area. Pagtabihin mo ba naman dalawang palasyo eh. 

Different sights at Changdeokgung Palace.

Built during Choson Dynasty, ang sabi ng information tablet sa loob ng palace eh this is the "epitome of Korean Architecture". But still, at a glance, it's difficult to separate its identity from the Chinese Architecture.

The heart of the Changdeokgung Palace.

I really cannot recall every part of the palace because it is too big. Kaya nag-emote na lang ulit si Teh. :))

Teh thinks that this is a common area where people can study or hold feasts.

Walking further within the Changdeokgung Palace, you will see gates that lead to Huwon Secret Garden (left) and Changgyeonggung Palace (right). Now you may see the convenience of buying the Integrated Tickets I've mentioned kasi you can immediately flash your ticket when crossing between the two palaces. Bonus rin ang entry sa Huwon Secret Palace by the way. :)

Top left: The gates that lead to Huwon Secret Garden and Changgyeonggung Palace respectively.
Others: Lake and tree sights in Changgyeonggung Palace

I think that this is more of a garden palace rather than structural palace. Parang 70% ata ng lugar na ito eh halaman at puno. They even have a greenhouse inside this palace. :)

White house na green house. :)

And here are the (maybe around) 30% of the palace, that are buildings. :3

Some structures inside the Changgyeonggung Palace.

So when you enter the left gate, heto naman ang mga makikita ninyo. Garden. (Hello?) Dito nakapagpulot sina Teh at Sensei ng maple leaf na ang laki-laki at sobrang dilaw. Do you see Teh smelling the leaf? (Infairness, amoy lupa haha.)

Enjoying the Autumn trees while exploring the Secret Garden. :D

Somehow, I didn't expect to see more Korean-inspired buildings inside. Dahil may "garden" sa pangalan ang area na ito, Teh expected plants and flowers. Pero okay lang din. Sobrang presko kaya sa lugar na 'to. Sarap ngumanga for a while. At medyo nirarayuma na ang Teh. :))

Ngangahan place sa Huwon Secret Garden. :O

A little bit surprised to see a small chain of houses here, or should I say common areas. Parang school din kasi ang itsura eh. Makes sense, because the Garden has served as training ground for military drills, a place for farming and for culturing silkworm.

Top left: Abangers ng lalabas.
Top right: Classrooms kaya ito?
Lower left: Dalawang teacher na nag-aabang ng klase.
Lower right: Walling. Nevermind...

~ Deoksugung Palace ~

Recommended Length of Visit: 2~3 hours

Medyo kakaiba 'tong palace na 'to kasi ang sabi eh free admission to those who are wearing Hanbok. Hay kung alam lang nina Teh sana 'yon na lang sinuot namin. :))

The traditional Korean structures inside Deoksugung Palace.

At kakaiba rin ang palace na ito in the sense that it houses some western-style buildings inside.

British-inspired buildings inside the palace.
The large building (bottom left) is a Japanese art gallery (which Teh did not enter).

As we walked further, natiyempuhan namin si Ateng Reyna in full Queen attire. Akala namin may nauupahan doon na royalty attire. 'Yun pala may gagawin lang ata silang pictorial. Pero hindi ko ma-confirm kung artista siya kasi hindi siya gaanong dinumog ng mga tao.

Around these areas, we found the Queen. Lumabas kaya siya from time machine? @_@

Huling palasyo na itong binisita namin, kaya lang hindi ko pa rin maisip ang pinagkaiba ng Chinese at Korean architecture sa maraming tinginan. (Not just once, twice, n times...)

The central structure at Deoksugung Palace.

Compared with other palaces, this is relatively smaller. Hindi naman kasi hari ang tumira dito kundi kapatid niya.

One last emote before we leave. XD

~ Heunginjimun/Sungnyemun Gates ~

Recommended Length of Visit: 5 minutes (just for exterior photo ops)

Actually, hindi alam ni Teh kung alin ang alin sa dalawang 'yan. Basta 'yung Heunginjimun Gate is near Dongdaemun station while Sungnyemun Gate is near Namdaemun station. Magkakamukha lang kasi ang fortress gates ng Seoul. These are just 2 out of 8 fortress gates in Seoul's Fortress Wall that surrounded the city during Joseon dynasty.

Alin, alin, alin ang naiba~ Hindi talaga mawari ni Teh. -_-

Sa palagay ko ay napagod na rin kayo sa pag-iimagine kung gaano kalalayo mga nilakad namin. Sa susunod na adventures ni Teh with Sensei in Seoul, we will explore the Bukchon Hanok Village. Thank you very much for visiting my travel journal. ^_^

Special thanks to the following who made the adventures of Teh in Seoul successful:

• Promo fare by Cebu Pacific Air.
• Choi's House Seoul for making Teh and Sensei feel at home and for the guidance in revising our original itinerary.
• Darlene-sensei for the photos and company.
• Korean Tourism Website for refreshing Teh's memories (official page link here).

~ Vocabulary ni Teh ~

[1] Hanbok - traditional Korean Costume.