Let me
explain “ondol” and all the buildings in Unhyungung Palace.
Ondol is
the traditional way to make the house very warm in winter. First, if we put
fire on the fireplace, the heat goes under the house so that it can make the
house very comfortable and hot.
In
Unhyungung Palace, there are “No-Rak-Dang”, “Ii-Ro-Dang”, and “No-An-Dang”. All
the buildings are related to Gojong’s family: Gojong, Empress Myungseoung, and
Gojong’s parents. Heungsundaewongun is Gojong’s father. Heungsundaewongun’s
wife lived in No-Rak-dang first, then moved to Ii-Ro-Dang when Gojong and
Empress Myeongsung got married. Since Empress Myeongsung had to live in
No-Rak-dang, Gojong built Ii-Ro-Dang for Heungsundaewonguns’ wife. No-Rak-dang
was the “an-chae” for Empress Myungseong. Because girls were not allowed to go
outside the Palace, it was designed so spacious that girls felt very comfortable.
Actually, it is the biggest building in the Palace. Because No-Rak-Dang is very
big, Gojong and Empress Myungseong’s marriage took place there. No-An-Dang was
Heungsundaewongun’s house. He met people from other countries there.