A Seoul trip without visiting Gyeongbokgung Palace doesn't seem complete since Gyeongbokgung Palace is known as the largest and most beautiful palace. This, along with Gwanghwamun Square, is the historical site in Seoul that I've wanted to see the most due to its popularity (it has appeared on TV very often).
As soon as we stepped out of Exit 9 of Gwanghwamun Station, we were greeted by this huge statue of Sejong the Great. Another statue, which is the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-shin is just right behind you.
Notice how the statue of Sejong the Great can be spotted from here. The site behind the statue of Sejong the Great is actually Gwanghwamun, the main and largest gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace.
During the 8 days that I've been in Seoul, I've encountered two protests. One was for the Gangnam murder case which happened a few days before my flight to Seoul (I thought Gangnam would be very happening just like the song Gangnam Style but that place was filled with sadness and anger because of this incident), another one was for the Sewol ferry disaster.
The Sewol ferry disaster protest took place in Gwanghwamun Square near the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-shin. To be honest, I wasn't expecting this since it happened in 2014, which is more than two years ago.
Apparently, the ferry has yet to be salvaged and brought to the surface and there are still nine missing bodies. I can't imagine the kind of heartache that the family and friends of the victims experience and I pray that the remaining bodies could be recovered.
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| The streets of Gwanghwamun |
After taking photos in Gwanghwamun Square, we crossed the road to make our way to Gyeongbokgung Palace. The major highlight of Gyeongbokgung Palace is the Royal Guard Changing Ceremony so don't miss it! Click here to find out about the performance time.
The day that we went to Gyeongbokgung Palace happened to be Culture Day and hence admission was free! It turns out that Culture Day in Korea falls on the last Wednesday of every month, so we managed to save 3,000 won per person. You can also visit the National Palace Museum of Korea and the National Folk Museum within Gyeongbokgung Palace for free on that day. In addition to Gyeongbokgung Palace, you can get free admission or discount in other places. Click here for the list of participating organisations.
Since Gyeongbokgung Palace is rather huge, we decided to join the free guided tour which lasted for about an hour. It was certainly interesting to learn about the history of the palace with explanation from our tour guide and she even gave us a lot of helpful tips on what to eat and where to go. Check out the time of the free guided tour here.
At the end of the guided tour, we were directed to the Blue House which is a presidential office and residence. We only took photos from far away at the designated spot in Gyeongbokgung Palace but if I'm not mistaken, free tours are available with prior online application of at least three weeks. You can refer to this if you're interested.
Directions: Gwanghwamun Station (Line 5 Exit 9)
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| Photo credit |
You can get to Gyeongbokgung from either Gyeongbokgung Station (duhhh obviously) or Gwanghwamun Station, but I would recommend the latter since you can visit Cheonggye Stream as well as see the statues of King Sejong and Admiral Yi Sun-shin. The best part is that you can walk towards the Gyeongbokgung Station direction and have lunch at Tongin Market after your palace tour in Gyeongbokgung!
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