Gyeongbokgung Palace and Bukchon Hanok Village

Hello everyone,

On the holiday Monday (October 1st), Jean-Marc and I decided to explore some traditional Korean culture. We had heard that over Chuseok, it was common for the palaces and museums to host activities. Our first stop was the Bukchon Hanok Village, a little neighbourhood with traditional Korean houses.

The Bukchon Visitors Center

A Korean door. I love these! Traditional Korean houses have many rooms off a common courtyard. 

They also don't have yards, but gardens inside the grounds of the house.

Next we walked over to the National Folk Museum, which is located just inside the Gyeongbokgung Palace. Right away we saw people in costumes and a dance starting. One of the drummers came up to us and let us take pictures with his drum. It was very heavy and sort of like a bronze pot.

The Dancers

They had cool things on their heads!

Here is a video I took of some dancing. I love the things they have on the top of their hats. I don't understand the turtle part of the story, but we have seen this dragon turtle figure in a few places. Also, beware. The sound is very scratchy. It was much better in person.

There were many activities going on at the folk museum, including artistic booths. Jean-Marc decided to make traditional clothing origami ... along with all the children. It was so cute. He was the only foreigner and the only person at the workshop over 12 years of age. The father of the girl next to him kept leaning over and fixing all the errors JM was making. It was hilarious! Clearly he wanted to make origami too.

Some of the model designs

Jean-Marc with all the children.

Making the frame.

Showing JM how to fold the pants.

HAHA! The hands of the infamous father who always wanted to help.

All done and looking mighty proud!

Finally, we walked through Gyeongbokgung Palace. This palace was part of the Joseon dynasty and used to be the residence of the king. After Korea's many invasions and wars, the palace had been destroyed. When the Japanese occupied their country in the 1900s, they tore down buildings and erected their own offices on the palace grounds. Since 1995, there was a massive restoration project and to date, 25% of the palace has been restored to its former glory. Jean-Marc and I both agree that when they finally get it done, they should have it operate like how the palace used to be .. to give visitors a sense of what it was like back in the Joseon dynasty, with real servants and community members. As it stands right now, it's hard to know what happened in each building and who lived where. The palace grounds, however, are beautiful, and the details on the buildings are stunning. I would love to have a house like this one day.

The Front Gates of Gyeongbokgung Palace

For all our pictures of Gyeongbokgung, check out the album:



Take care,

Jennika