Dave McNally Photography

Story, pho­tos by Dave McNally

A vis­i­tor to Korea expects to see tra­di­tional Asian archi­tec­ture. It is, after all, what makes this coun­try unique to an American.

In Seoul, there may be noth­ing more majes­tic and tra­di­tional than the five palaces from Korea’s royal past.

One of the his­toric homes is across from the Seoul City Hall behind a vast brick fence. Inside, a peace­ful park con­tains faith­ful recre­ations of Deok­su­g­ung (“gung” means palace).

Kore­ans and for­eign­ers alike enter the palace grounds to get a glimpse of the nation’s her­itage. It is also a place for young dat­ing cou­ples or busy office work­ers to relax.

Deok­su­g­ung is steeped in his­tory. The Yi fam­ily ruled Korea for more than five cen­turies (1392–1910).

Many say the name “Joseon” was how Korea became known as “The Land of the Morn­ing Calm.” Oth­ers say it was an ancient name for the land.

Regard­less, the dynasty became known for many advances. The dynasty became one of the old monar­chies in world history.

Dur­ing this period the cap­i­tal moved to Seoul. King Sejong cre­ated the Hangul alpha­bet and sci­ence and cul­ture flour­ished. The monarch is hon­ored with a promi­nent statue on the Deoksu Palace grounds.

Over the years, Deok­su­g­ung had many names. It was orig­i­nally built in the late 16th century.

It is smaller than other Seoul palaces. How­ever, Deok­su­g­ung became the pri­mary royal home shortly before the Japan­ese occu­pa­tion ended the monar­chy in 1910.

From spring through late fall vis­i­tors, can see Korean re-enactors per­form the chang­ing of the royal guards ceremony.

There is also an art museum on the grounds. The palace is open 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. A ticket booth at the palace gate charges a nom­i­nal fee. Park­ing is avail­able along the north palace wall.