Changdeokgung Inside (part 3): The One & Only Blue-Roofed Hall

Before long, I saw a glimpse of what the office and other high-life furnitures were like inside the palace.

The hallway adjacent to the royal room seemed to show off an exquisite taste of its heyday.

Hmmmm...this is interesting. A cabinet? a desk? a working desk? Gee..I wished I'd had a tour guide while wandering inside the palace...

...with no guide whatsoever..I could only guess what they were used to be for....^^ But, I think it used to be a place where royal guests were entertained...

Another room showing off how the grandeur of its heyday was being shown upon.

Again...no other people were visible during my visit. It's a bit eerie...well, of course there were one of two..., but still...the stillness froze me away...

This is Seonjeongjeon 선정전 ...dubbed to be the only existing palace building with a blue-tiled roof. 

Yup..it's blue, alright.

oops..this is not inside the palace. It's definitely OUTSIDE the palace....leading to Bukcheon Hanok Village....^^...which means one thing...I was oblivious that I was already outside the palace compound.*-*

Changdeokgung Palace (part 1)

딱 9시10분 아침에 도착해서 그런지.... 관강객들이 많이 없었네. 그래도 좋았다. 텅 비어 있는 궁이 사진을 찍는게 더 좋더라.

물론 쑥 들어가보니....단 구경하는 사람이 없어서...찡...무서웠더라...

ㅋㅋㅋ 무서운 영화를  많이 봐서 그랬다. 

구석 구석 곰곰히 구경해 보니 흠..신기하더라. 생각보다...창덕궁은 다른 궁보다 매력이 있네.

이러한 나무로 꾸민 울다리(?) 가까이 보니 오래되었고 잘 보존되었다.

The ornaments were intact.

The veranda seemed to be well preserved.

근데 ...너무 추어 가지고 밖에서 구경하는 게 참 힘들었다. 

Taereung ep. 1

With only 1000 won or 500 won for my case*...I took the kids to one of the tombs of Joseon kings*.

the kids didn't need to pay. It's free of charge for them.

with that...we could enjoy the scenery and learned one or two about history.

They loved it....well...I thought so.

one of the ways to enjoy summer.

It's not that hot today...so it's fun.

turned out some people were also having picnic!!!

* As a resident of Nowon county, I got 50% off^^

@nd free for the kids.

one thing for sure...the kids had a time with their Daddy out of the house.

oh...they even had their fair share of becoming archeologists. So they said.

...digging out some stones..pebbles...

수원의 돌...마법의 돌...행운의 돌....ㅋㅋㅋ

Royal Tomb of Joseon Dynasty (part 5 )

This is the T-Shaped Shrine (정자각) which I was referring earlier in my previous blog. This serves as the venue for ancestral rites and where the tablet of the deceased is enshrined during the rituals. 

With the burial mound right behind it, the T-shaped shrine is in line with the mound itself. I think it was created in such a way so as to give the direct link between the shrine and the tomb. I wonder it that is the case, though. 

Now. a moment for myself. I was impelled to have a pic of me at least once. I was squatting right underneath the Red Gate which severs as the entrance to the sacred territory. 

It mainly consists of two round pillars spanned by horizontal bars decorated with spikes. (nope..not in the picture, though).

anyway..this is how it looked as I was gazing from the gate. 

what's the pavement?

it's no ordinary pavement. In fact...these two separated lanes are called:

Spirit Road (신도 /sin-do) on the left-side.

&

King's Road (어도 /eo-do) on the right-side. 

These are clearly separated to make sure that people or those visiting the shrines do not walk carelessly on the walkway.

In fact there is a sign reminding visitors to keep off the royal tomb's spirit walkway (신도). again and again...I wonder what would happen if anyone just walk on it... 

the other one (the lower one) is a sign on the king's road; this, too, is informing visitors that they can walk on this path towards the shrine. 

At around 3 pm I was there..and the heat..oh my God...I could assure you...is bearable. ^^ well, it's autumn in essence, though the trees still looked green. 

Before going right into the Shrine, I took a zoomed pic of the stone figures of military guards and civil officials ..symbolizing their loyalty in guiding the royal tomb.