Saturday, July 19, 2008

Gyeongbokgung

Today I braved the down pour and made my way to Gyeongbokgung. It is a palace that has been in existence since th Joseon Dynasty in South Korea. It was built in 1395, but in 1592 the Japanese destroyed it. They burnt it down and since it was made of wood, I'm sure it went up quickly. However, it was rebuilt in 1868 and it has 330 buildings. It was quite magnificent. I had a very nice tour guide who gave me more information than perhaps I needed to know, but I learned a lot. My favorite part of the day was learning the hangul alphabet, which of course has escaped me now. However, it was interesting to learn the origin of the written language.

The grounds of the palace also house the National Folk Museum. I really wanted to check that out too, but my feet were soggy and I really wanted to be dry. I have a week off starting July 26th so I will be able to go to these places again, plus more. Here are a few pictures from my day at Gyeongbokgung...

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