Gyeongbok Palace was the main palace among the five palaces of Joseon. It was built by King Taejo in 1395. The palace is divided into inner palace, outer palace, and resting, hosting place. Inner palace is for the private life of the King and the royal families. There are Gangneongjeon – the King¡¯s living quarter, Gyotaejeon – the Queen¡¯s living quarter, and Jagyeongjeon –  the Queen Mother¡¯s living quarter are examples of it. There is a beautiful back garden named Ahmisan for the Queen. Here we can enjoy nature and observe the four seasons changing. On the other hand, the outer palace is for the public life of the King. For example, there are Geunjeongjeon – the main throne hall and Sajeongjeon – the King¡¯s working office. The inner palace is empty, and the outer palace is a working place, so both of them look boring. Well, it may be a funny thought of mine, but this is the only common thing I can think of. Now, the least but not the last, for the resting and hosting place there is Gyeonghuiru. The outer pillar is square-shaped which represents the earth, and the inner pillar is round-shaped which represents heaven. They made these different to balance earth and heaven. There are as much as eleven Japsang on the roof, which is the most number among all palaces.

It was my first visit to Gyeongbok Palace I was disappointed because it was smaller than what I imagined.