Changgyeonggung

Located east of Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung was a summer palace. Built in 1104 and called Sunganggung, the palace was given its present name in the 1390s, when the first Joseon King lived here while waiting for Gyeongbokgung to be built. Destroyed in 1592, it was reconstructed in 1616, with the majority of the buildings rebuilt in the 1830s after a terrible fire. During the Japanese occupation, a modern red building was built in the grounds and it was turned into a zoo and botanical gardens. The zoo was removed, though the botanical garden remains, and the palace was completely restored from 1983 to 1986. Unlike the other palaces in the city (which all have north-south orientations), Changgyeonggung has an east-west orientation, as was customary during the Goryeo Dynasty. The houses face south, but the office of the king, the Myeongjeongjeon, faces east. Because the ancestral shrines of the royal family are located in the south, the gate couldn't face south, according to Confucian customs. The largest building in the complex is Tongmyeongjeon, which was built as the queen's quarters. The pond, Chundangji, located in the north of the complex, was constructed during the Japanese occupation -- before that, much of the land now underwater had been a rice field that the king tended. From spring to autumn, various events (tea ceremonies, reenactments for the king's birthday, marriage ceremonies) are held at the palace on select weekend days. Check with the palace administration or the Korea travel phone tel. 1330 for additional info.