Today, I went to Gyeongbokgung palace. This palace is one of the five palaces in Seoul. It was used as the main palace. It was built in 1395 by King Taejo (Lee Sung-Ge). It was built 3 years after Joseon was established. According to Feng Shui, the area where Gyeonbokgung palace is now was the best place to build a palace because it has a river in front and the mountains behind. The name 'Gyeongbok' means great fortune, so Gyeongbokgung Palace means the palace of great fortune.

     Gyeongbokgung palace is divided into 3 parts. The outer palace, the inner palace, and the hosting and relaxing area. The outer palace was used for special events such as coronation, royal weddings, and other events. It was also used for official work, so the king and his royal retainers would discuss national affairs. The inner palace is the king, queen, and other royalties' private part of the palace. They lived there and ate, slept, and sometimes the king would invite his retainers to discuss a topic. The hosting and relaxing area was for resting and partying.

     While I was looking around the palace, I felt that the people who had built the original palace had made a lot of symbolic things around the palace. There are especially a lot of things that are there to protect the palace from fire, demons, and evil spirits. I think the danchung was well used since the decorations were very detailed. In my opinion, Gyeongbokgung palace is really worth being the main palace of Joseon. It is very unfortunate that we cannot see it's first original form. It was a great experience to go to Gyeongbokgung palace.