Today I went to the Seoul History Museum. Which was mostly about the Joseon¡¯s capital Hanyang. To introduce Hanyang, in 1394, King Taejo chose Hanyang as the new capital according to Korean traditions, Feng Shui,and Confucianism. After King Taejo had changed the capital from Gaesong, to Hanyang, Hanyang became the center of politics, economy, and culture. As we can see, Hanyang was chosen to be the capital for several important reasons. In this perfect area, there are many splendid places. However, I thought that the palaces of Hanyang, the neighborhoods in Hanyang, and the Six Ministries Street was the most significant.

First, there were 5 palaces in the Joseon Dynasty: Gyeongbokgung, Gyeonghuigung, Deoksugung, Changgyeonggung, and Changdeokgung. The palaces were divided to Donggwol and Seogwol. First, Donggwol is the name for Changgyeonggung and Changdeokgung, the west palaces. Changdeokgung was built in 1405 as a secondary palace. It was built for in case accident in the main palace, Gyeongbokgung. Like in the Imjin war, Gyeongbokgung was burnt down, so Changdeokgung was used as the main palace. Second, Seogwol was the name for Gyeonghuigung the west palace. Gyeonghuigung was built in 1623, and served as the secondary palace for the king. This area was originally Jungwongun¡¯s land, but was taken by Gwanghaegun because he heard that it has great energy for the new king. However, Gwanghaegun was dethroned before he entered Gyeonghuigung, and Jungwongun¡¯s son Injo had become the next king. It is assumed that the reason that Gwanghaegun started this construction was because of complex. He was the son of one of the king¡¯s concubines, so he wanted to show his power through constructing a palace.

Second, the Six Ministries Street, it was the street that leads up to Gwanghwamun, the main gate of Gyeongbukgung, that was called Six Ministries Street. On the east line of the street, there was The State Council, Ministry of Personnel, The City Hall of Hanyang, Ministry of Taxation, and Bureau of Elder Statesmen. On the west line of the street, there was the Ministry of Rite, Office of Inspector General, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Public Works. This street was for high class people like the people who work in the palace or the officials.

Third, there were 3 neighborhoods in Hanyang. The first neighborhood is Bukchon which is a affluent neighborhood. It is located between Gyeongbokgung to the west and Changdeokgung to the east. Because of the location, Bukchon is the best place to live according to the Feng Shui. Therefore, only royal families and high class officials could live here. Second, is Jungchon which is a community of technical specialists. It was located in between Jongno and Cheonggyechon today. Residents included merchants, doctors, clerks etc who worked for the government. Also people between noblemen and commoners lived here too. The third neighborhood was Namchon, the bedrock of Hanyang society. There were many poor noblemen who were politically excluded in Namchon. However, there were still a few powerful noblemen in Namchon. Also it had a beautiful scenery, so many artists lived in this area.

In conclusion, I think Hanyang is just the right place to live and a very significant place that can be remembered for a long time in our history. Next time I can ever come back to the Seoul History Museum once again, I would want to learn more about the Japanese Invasion, the Imjin war, and the people who fought for it.