Tales of Korea #8 : Winter light over Gyeongbokgung.

I visited Gyeongbokgung again this year. Nothing much has changed since last year or the year before, but I wanted to see how the winter light was playing with the colourful wood architecture and the stone statues. 

And it really is something to see. The winter light gives a warm feel, even to stone, and the shadows have some texture to them. It's like sunset light, but filtered. 

The result is a serie of pictures with a somehow old school style.

 

Here's a serie of pictures of the stone statues that are situated all around the throne hall. They represent various animals, some real, some imaginary.

I let you try to find out what they are.

  

 

About Gyeongbokgung (경복궁) :

Gyeongbokgung is one of the five royal palaces that you can find in Seoul. Built in 1395, it is considered the main palace as it was the home of the Kings of the Joseon Dynasty. 

Over the centuries, the palace was destroyed and rebuilt several times. 

The building architecture is reminiscent of ancient Korean architecture : buildings made of wood are sitting on top of stone platforms, in the middle of stone-paved courtyards. Each courtyard is enclosed with wooden cloisters. There was something like 500 buildings in Gyeongbokgung before the Japanese colonial government destroyed it during the period of occupation (1910-1945). 

In 1989, the South Korea government started a large project of restoration. In 2010, it is said that 40% of the structures had been reconstructed. 20 more years will be needed to restore the palace to his former splendor.

Closed on Tuesdays.

Address : 161 Sajik-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Ticket price : ₩3000