Royal Heritage

II<F
KOR.EA
FOUNDATION
KOREA ESSENTIALS No. 7
Joseon's
Royal Heritage
500 Years of Splendor
Introduction 6
Chapter 1
Gyeongbol<gung: The First Palace 10
Found ati on of th e Joseon Dynasty I Signifi ca nce of Gyeon gbokgung
Trials of Gyeo ngbokgun g I Enduring Symbol of Joseo n
Chapter
2
A Tour of Gyeongbol<gung 24
Th e Oute r Palace I Th e Inner Palace and th e Rea r Gard ens
Chapter 3
The Other Four Palaces 38
Changdeokgun g l Changgyeonggun g l Deoks ugu ngI Gye onghuigun g
Chapter 4
Royal Tombs: Enduring Splendor of Joseon 56
Idea l Settin g I Layo ut of Roya l Tombs I Dae han Empire Tom bs
Chapter 5
Royal Funeral Processions 72
Nati onal Und erta kin g I Se lection of a Tomb Site and Buri al Practi ces
Grand Fun eral Process ion I Politi ca l Transiti on
Chapter 6
Representative Joseon Tombs 80
Seonj eo ngneun g I Tae reun g I Donggure un g Tomb Co mplex
Gwangneun glYeongneun g
Chapter 7
Joseon Wangjo Sillok: Masterpiece of History 86
Hi story of Annals I UNESCO's Memory of the World Register
Why We re the Anna ls Comp il ed? I Compilation Procedures
Chapter 8
Preservation Efforts 96
Mountain Archives I Regu lar Ma intenance
Chapter 9
Digital Era Brings Annals to Life 102
Di gital Age Revival I Blurring of Fact and Fiction I User-Friendly Annals
Appendix
History of the Joseon Dynasty
Other Information 118
112
Delving Deeper
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Taejo, the First King of Joseo n 15
Feng Shui 19
The Japa nese Governm ent General Bui ldin g 23
Tragedy of Empress Myeongseong 35
Th e Strife of the Princ es 40
Kin g Gojong and the Daehan Empire 50
Korean Royal Tomb Culture 58
Variety of Royal Tomb s 62
Preserv in g Royal Bodi es 74
Th e Uigwe, Another UNESCO M emory of the World 91
Yeonsan-gun and the Literati Purges 92
Recla imin g the Annals 99
Th e Annals as Ci nematic Inspiration 108
6
INTRODUCTION
T he J oseon Dynasty, ruled by an unbroken line of 27 kings from
1392 to 1910, was a time of grea t cultural deve lopm ent for th e
Korean natio n. As with any royal dynasty, some kings were better
than others, and the foreign invasions of the 16th and 17th centuries
were an especially difficult time for th e kingdom. Taken as a whole,
however, the Joseon Dynasty provided Korea with five centuries of
politica l and social stability, which in tum allowed for great cultural
development. It was during this dynasty that many asp ects of wha t is
now conside re d Ko r ean tradi tion a l c ulture-Confu cian ism in
particular-took root and flowered.
This book wi ll examine three of the better-known areas of Joseon
cultural heritage: Seoul's roya l palaces, the Joseon roya l tombs, a nd
the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty. Each of th ese treasures, deeply
im bued wi t h J oseo n 's Confucia n cu ItLlre, revea ls unique aspec t s
a bout the kingdom and its legacy.
Standing in the heart of Seoul's old downtown-which itself still
largely fo llows tbe origina l p lans set down by King Taejo when he
estab li shed hi s new roya l capital in 1394-the five roya l palaces are
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more than just buildings; they are architectural expressions of Joseon
soc iet y a nd its rulin g p hil osoph y. T h e o ld es t a nd t he la r ges t ,
Gyeongbokgung, is one of th e city's most recogniza ble landmarks,
bur even it cannot hold a candle to its slightl y yo unger brother, the
exquisite Changdeokgun g, a UNESCO World H eritage Site and the
pinnacle of Korea n traditi onal architectme and landsca ping.
The royal tombs of the Joseon Dynasty-4O fin al resting places of
Joseon kings and queens scattered about 18 locati ons in Seo ul and th e
s ur ro undin g p r ov in ce o f Gyeo n gg i- do- a r e uniqu e in th e ir
completeness. Through their layout, location and motifs shed much
light on the w orld vi ew sh are d by th e kin gs of Joseon and their
subj ects.
Finally, the Annals of the Joseon D ynasty, which have experienced
a drama tic history, esp eciall y over th e last century. These records are
unequ all ed in their richn ess as a so urce of hi storical and cultural
info rm a tion a bo ut Ko r ea n hi story. Wi t h t ec hn o logy prov iding
grea ter public access to these priceless documents in recent years, the
A nnals have even begun to provide inspiration to the artists of to day.
Chapter One
GYEONGBOKGUNG:
:rHE FIRST PALACE
ver the course of Korea's 5,000 -ye ar hi st ory, the J oseon
D ynasty (1392-1910 ) has stood a t the forefront of Korean
culture, esp ecia ll y in term s of the brilliance of its royal cu lture .
Indeed, the roya l palaces of this era are among the country's most
cherished nationa l treasures and cultural relics .
A pa lace is the king's home . But the "palace" concept, as seen
from t he histor ica l do cu m ents of th e J oseo n Dynasty, is much
broader; it includes the pl aces where th e king resided, w here he li ved
before h e becam e king, and where he stayed while trave ling th e
coun try, and even th e sllJ:ine built for royal ancestors . There are five
official Joseon palaces where the king resided and conducted forma l
business: Gyeo ngbo k gun g, Ch angdeo kgung, C hanggyeonggu ng,
Gyeonghuigung, a nd Deoksugung (or Gyeongun gung ). But it was
only for a bout a single decade that a ll five of th ese palaces existed at
the same time.
O
Gyeongbokgung: The
First Palace 11
Gyeo ng bokg un & Cha ngdeok g ung, a nd C hanggyeo ngg ung (a n
ann ex to Ch angdeokgung) served as the primary pa laces prior to
the J apa nese in vasion of Ko rea in 1952 , while Chang deo kgung,
Ch anggyeo ngg ung, and Gyeo nghuigun g became the m ain p alaces
ther eafte r. Deoks ugun g was n ot rea ll y a J oseo n p a lace, but a n
expan sion built in preparati on for th e proclamation of the Deahan
Empire in 1897.
A lth o ug h seve r a l J oseo n D y n as t y p a laces r e m a in int ac t ,
Gyeong bokgung is especiall y noteworthy. Origina lly built in 1395,
it served as th e fi rst and prim ary p alace of the Joseon Dynasty. The
m a in ga te faced t he Yukjogeo ri ("Six M ini stry Aven ue," to d ay's
Sejong-ro), w hile to the rear of the pa lace stood Mt. Bugaksa n and
M t. Inwangsa n, making it an ideal site in terms of feng shui (pungsu
in Korean ) principles as well as its picturesqu e natural scenery. As
Gwanghwamun Gate, the front entrance to Gyeongbokgung Palace
ancl a major Seoul lanclmark