The great palaces of Seoul

It was summer, and I found myself in Seoul, Korea. After touring the De-Militarized Zone (DMZ) at the border between the two Korean countries, we head for the city. Although the city is rapidly progressing towards modernization, its history is remarkably well preserved. It was said that a trip to Seoul would not be complete if u do not visit at least one of the famous Five Grand Palaces. We only had the chance to visit two of them during our visit.

1)      Deoksugung Palace

I paid 1,000 won for the entrance fee and wandered around the large area observing the view and snapping photos. The old Korean architecture was beautiful indeed. I also witnessed the royal guard changing ceremony at the palace during the visit. The park is opened daily from 9.00am till 6.00pm except for Mondays. To get there, you can take subway Line 2 to City Hall Station and get out at Exit 2 or 3.

the guards at the main entrance

one of the buildings inside the area

beautiful architecture of the awning

royal guard changing session

2)      Geongbokgung Palace

After Deoksugung Palace we walked about for about 20 minutes towards the next palace, Geongbokgung Palace. Found out that the later is relatively larger in size. The architecture is similar with the previous palace but the main building is a Pagoda like building which reminds me of the one I saw near the Summer Palace in Beijing. The palace is opened daily from 9.00am till 6.00pm except for Tuesdays. Admission fee is 3,000 won. To get there, please take subway Line 3 to Gyeongbokgung Station and proceed to Exit 5.

the main entrance

hand painted ceilings

Farah from thatsofarah.com

the pagoda like building

 The other 3 palaces that I didn’t had the chance to visit are Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Gyeonghuigung Palace. Perhaps I will, in my next visit.

 

Location Map


View Seoul Palaces in a larger map

14 Responses so far.

  1. Emila Yusof says:

    Been to the 2nd palace. It was great experience and love the art, wrote about it in my Art & Places segment.

    • danarif says:

      yup.. the arts were indeed beautiful!.. the vibrant paintings were available at both palaces.. maybe the remaining 3 palaces also have similar designs 🙂

  2. Pic no. 6 tu HDR ke? Love the angle

  3. Jeff says:

    I’m inspired already to visit the five palaces in Seoul…my friends are all heading to Korea this year and I’m hoping to do so next year…in need to save as much money as possible…

  4. cindyrina says:

    Dan! almost like what we found in Beijing…I am heading korean early november. Jz explore seoul using subway.

  5. Qnie says:

    Hi, sy plan nk g korea next year autumn, nk mtk opinion, rase2 perlu x guide klu sy g dgn kwn2 jer dlm 4-5org..ms autumn sejuk x ek? Thanks anyway..

    • danarif says:

      Hi.. x payah guide pon takpa.. just buat research sendiri.. x susah sgt.. sbb train dia boleh bawak ke kebanyakkan tempat.. even sampai Nami Island pon boleh.. autumn bln 9-10 kan.. kena bawak baju sejuk jgak la.. rasanya dalam 14-20 degree celcius

  6. Faizal says:

    Hi there,i’m planning to go a trip by year 2013 autumn.it is difficult to find a halal food?thx

    • danarif says:

      there’s one post about halal food under the Korea Category.. I’ve also put some external links there which might help..

  7. There is a wide variety of cute school hairstyles available to female Korean students. These may be implemented on short, medium and long hair. Short hairs offer you limited styling selections, which includes straight, curly, messy and spiky approaches. For medium hair, it is actually advisable to try loose straight styles, curly loose styles, messy buns, ballerina bun and bob types. A lot more possibilities are offered for extended hair, the most effective being half-up/half-down, pinned up, ponytail, braided and scene designs.


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