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. 

WEEKEND's SpLenDoRs...

Panda!!!

Chair and balloons!!!

Future Lights!!!

Taereung Royal Tomb.

*biking to get here

Jongmyo Shrine Royal Ancestral Rites

The rites just finished and we were then allowed to come closer to the shrine to see the each shrine of all 19 kings of Joseon.

Of course it was an experience in itself.

King Taejo, the founder of Joseon Dynasty.

Lots of people deliberately took a pic of this shrine. 

King Sejong.

The one who created Hangeul.

King Injo. Hmm...

King Gojong...

This is how it looked like when all 19 shrines are lined up.

The elephant-shaped sangjun or wine cup for the royal spirit. Hmm...elephant. W...W...Why? Where did it get its influences from? I wonder...

Being A Joseon Dynasty's Guard....

Before we left, we got something else to do. We signed up for a chance to try out passing an examination to be a Joseon guard. 

As it turned out, well..I was surrounded by high school students who were more than eager to try this one out. I was beside myself...:) since...not many adults ( as expected!!!) were into this kind of stuff. 

But..that didn't hamper us from 'enjoying' this act of valor:)* 

Archery was one of the examinations we got to master. 

After a 1.5 hour long exam, we got a photo session with the guards who helped us get through the *supposedly* rigorous test we'd ever been into. 

And last ..but surely not least...a picture with our group's chief of guards. Oh, my friend, Ismail, managed to get a dip of lucky present since he managed to pull it off during an archery session. Bravo, dude.

Spring @ Gyeongbokgung Palace (part 2)

#Pray for everyone affected by Jindo ferry incident. 
--> so, I just hope that everyone, my friends..anyone who happen to read this blog...please try to understand that IF I start posting up my pictures and all of the activities I've been doing for the past weeks (blogging that I've been doing on a daily basis for the past 4 years..), please..believe me that it DOES NOT mean that I am insensitive of what IS happening. I AM and I do. My heart goes out for them.
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It's the same day (March 30), 2014

The  ceremony of Joseon's guards inauguration had just started and I was more than ready to enjoy the whole procession. 

Water-colored version of the guards in charge. 

When the King arrived, all guards knelt showing respect.--right? 

hmm, not all of them--as it turned out. or I may have missed something! 

As the inauguration came to a complete order,  folk-dance and musical performance were sequentially in display. 

A quintessentially Korean percussion show: checked! 

Apsara-like percussion performers: checked!  

a panoramic view of the whole procession. 

I think this was the dance-sight-sound of the day! 

What I found interesting was the fact that even a cameraman was clad in Joseon's traditional attire, too. I assume it was meant to make it NOT so conspicuously visible to spectators that a modern symbol like camera DID exist in the midst of traditional ceremony like this. Hmm, pretty understandable:) 

The newly appointed guards were ready to leave the ground. 

now...let's go to another venue where I'd experience something else. 

This is what I like about Seoul: right in front of this palace...lies high-rises that dotted the spectrum of two different worlds, yet uniquely complementary. 

Jeonju Trip (part 5): Visiting Royal Portrait Museum & Got Tons of Questions...

This is so not me. Basically, I am not into museum, unless it does offer me something that I never heard of or anything. When we were inside the Gyeonggijeon, we were ushered into a royal portrait museum. hmmm what? well, this is it. Finally, I learned that this is the very place where portraits of the then-rulers of Joseon were stored.

This is the only remaining portrait of King Taejo which was originally copied from the original one in 1872. Why is it important, once again? well, since one of the famous figures in the portrait is of course, King Tae-jo, Lee Sung-gye--the Founder of Joseon.

It's a good thing that we had a guide with us. She told us stories behind the portraits and the picture above (King Tae-jo). Why is it that the king's robe is blue? what is the name of the black hat that he was wearing? and were the shoes black as pictured in the portrait back then?

But..what I remember vividly was this:

The golden dragon drawn on the king's robe has 5 claws, instead of 7 like the Chinese Emperors used to have. It simply means that at that time Korea (Joseon) was somewhat 'ruled' or 'under' the influence or 'authority' of China. Hmm, is that so? quite interesting.

Then, one of the main attractions at the museum is this Moon and Sun and Mountains portrait which is the indispensable and quintessential portrait that symbolizes Joseon's dynasty. The so-called Royal backdrop is famous among visitors to 're-enact' or 'act-out' being a king:)

with Daniel, my classmate from China.

This museum looks small, but don't be fooled by the sheer size since it is mostly underground floors that counts!