I went to Unhyun Palace last Sunday. Unhyun Palace was not an official house. It was an personal house of Heng-sean-dea-wan-gun. In Unhyun Palace, there are many places such as Sujiksa(¼öÁ÷»ç) where guards and servants stayed, Noan-dang(³ë¾È´ç) where Heng-sean-dea-wan-gun met guests and discussed political issues, Iro-dang(À̷δç) where Heng-sean-dea-wan-gun¡¯s wife stayed, and so on. There is a lofty gate to represent the pride of noble men and there is also a lower gate. To get through the lower gate, you have to lower your neck to represent modesty.

Who lived in Unhyun Palace? There lived Heng-sean-dea-wan-gun, his son, Gojong, and Gojong¡¯s wife, queen Min. There lived more people including guards and servants. On Heng-sean-dea-wan-gun¡¯s stage, Andong Kim¡¯s clan pressed the royal family for 60 years. They did not care about Heng-sean-dea-wan-gun. That is because Heng-sean-dea-wan-gun hang out with gangsters and pretended to be a fool. When his young son, Gojong became king, he ruled Joseon on behalf of Gojong. Gojong became king at the age of 12 because king Cheol-jong passed away young and did not have any son.

In 1897, Gojong changed the country¡¯s name to Dea-Han-je-guk and called himself Emperor. Gojong¡¯s wife, queen Min played an active part in politics. She planned to modernize Korea unlike Heng-sean-dea-wan-gun. She tried to have a good relationship with Russia. However, Japanese did not like that idea and murdered queen Min then burned her body. This is a real tragedy in Korean history. Those Japanese people did so many things to Korea at that time. That crime drove many Joseon people to Anti-Japan action.

Some bad and sad things happened in Korean history. Of course, there are also good and helpful people in our history. All of these made today. I think all of us have a responsibility to make better future. Unhyun Palace is a fantastic place for us to think about our history once again. Unhyun Palace is one of places we have to visit and see Korean history.