Becoming a Tourist Again - Changdeokgung

I always considered myself extremely behind in Korean history and culture because I didn't grow up in Korea, hearing bedtime stories of historical war heroes and kings and leaders and the like. I can barely recall Korean folk stories, or famous pansori plots - and when I mention I don't know, I can see people's eyes widening, as if it's unbelievable that I could be unfamiliar with something so common, something that's such an inherent part of our childhoods and lives.

I also believe it's more difficult for me to follow Korean politics because I don't know much of modern history as well. Our sentiments against Japan, the importance of our president being the daughter of a dictator, our relationship with the United States; it's all connected to history, and sadly I have very limited knowledge. I began to feel frustrated of my ignorance at some point, so last year I actually paid a tutor to give me Korean history lessons. She started from the very beginning, from the first traces of human life on the Korean peninsula, and just as we were wrapping up the Joseon Dynasty I had scheduled my two-month backpacking trip to Europe and had to quit. I didn't get to learn modern/contemporary history, which was why I started the tutor sessions in the first place, but I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the Joseon era, since most of our cultural and historical heritages come from this period.

For our last tutor session, which was about exactly a year ago from today, I visited Changdeokgung with my teacher, and went on a guided tour while brushing up on the facts I had learned. Visiting the palace in person, after only reading about it and passing it by on the bus, was a different experience altogether. One visit is definitely not enough, so when my close friend and neighbor Jaehee suggested we should try and do something outside our neighborhood for a change, we decided on visiting Changdeokgung (again for me), which is only a few bus stops away.

The weather was clear and sunny, the temperature pleasantly cool with slight hints of spring. We arrived at an awkward time so we skipped the guided tour and just walked around by ourselves, taking pictures and resting whenever we wanted to.

To think that once upon a time only royalty could walk on these roads!

They held the major ceremonies here... or something like that.

Stones that indicate the rank of officials. They had to line up by their according stones when gathering.

Cool panoramic shot!

Don't know what the characters say, but I liked how the windows were all perfectly aligned.

I realized today that all those tutoring sessions from last year did absolutely nothing. I couldn't remember anything, all those interesting facts I had learned on my last tour were just blank spaces within my brain. I only knew that I had heard some sort of related information on it, but I couldn't remember what. I couldn't read any of the Chinese characters, so I wasn't able to read the names of the buildings. Not that I would know what the buildings meant even if I could.

Whatever. It was still a lovely place to stroll around. Koreans under 25 and younger can enter for free (yay for being young!) though I don't think this applies to foreigners (yay for being Korean!). It was a good day for soaking in some Korean culture, stepping on the grounds that were once forbidden for peasants and everyday citizens, marveling at the intricate beauty of Korean architecture. I love that these palaces are smack in the city center and so accessible, even though most Koreans don't take advantage of this. I think the next time I come back, I'll definitely go for the guided tour again.

Me, sitting in front of the concubine headquarters