TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Seoul hosts tours at royal palaces
Royal palaces of the Joseon era will hold limited tours, with Deoksugung inviting guests to see inside its buildings and Changdeokgung holding its annual nighttime tour.
Change Size
Royal palaces of the Joseon era will hold limited tours, with Deoksugung inviting guests to see inside its buildings and Changdeokgung holding its annual nighttime tour. (Shutterstock/Sanga Park)
R
oyal palaces of the Joseon era (1392-1910) will hold limited tours, with Deoksugung inviting guests to see inside its buildings and Changdeokgung holding its annual nighttime tour.
From Wednesday to Sunday, and on April 2, tours of Deoksugung’s five main buildings will be held twice a day from 10 a.m. to 11:20 a.m., and 4 p.m. to 5:20 p.m., according to the Cultural Heritage Administration.
Deoksugung was originally built as a home for the royal family, but became a palace after a Japanese invasion in the late 16th century destroyed the royal palaces. It was used as the main palace of the dynasty during Joseon’s dying years, during the reign of its last kings Gojong and Sunjong.
The tour will take visitors inside Junghwajeon, the main hall of the palace, Junmyeongdang, where King Gojong would welcome foreign envoys, Jeukjodang, the king’s office, Seokeodang, where King Seonjo stayed after the Japanese invasion destroyed other palaces, and Hamnyeongjeon, where King Gojong took his final breath in 1919.
Read also: A day in Seoul: What to visit and when
Up to 15 people can attend each tour, with reservations available from 10 a.m. on Tuesday. Only those in middle school or older are permitted, to maintain order within the ancient buildings.
Reservations for the tour can be made at the homepage of the Deoksugung Palace Management Office, which also provides information about the palace in Korean or English.
Last week, reservations for the popular nighttime tour of Changdeokgung commenced at Auction Ticket. The tour runs from April 4 to June 9, and from Aug. 22 to Oct. 27, and tickets cost 30,000 won per person.
This article appeared on The Korea Herald newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
