Today is a Korean National Holiday...don't know which one...but Spencer has the day off! We decided to go visit one of the Five Grand Palaces of Seoul! All 5 palaces were built during the Joseon Dynasty which was founded in 1392 and lasted until the early 1900s. Gyeongbokgung Palace was built in 1395. It was destroyed by fire during times of war, but was restored in the 19th century. It was destroyed again by Imperial Japan in the 20th century. They once again restored the palace and it's grounds to their original state. The palace is HUGE! There are over 7,000 rooms and approximately 500 buildings. We had no idea it was that big when we went. You could easily spend 5 or 6 hours walking around! We only had 3. You can't enter very many of the buildings but they have all the windows open so you can see in.
The architecture was amazing and the colors were so brilliant. There was so much detail in patterns and designs on the ceilings and walls. Most buildings looked the same on the outside, with only small variances on the inside. We saw the King's Chambers, the Queen's Chambers, and the foundation of the crowned Prince and Princess' Chambers (apparently when Japan invaded Korea they decided that they wanted the building so they literally just took it). They decided not to restore that building. There were libraries and astronomy buildings and places for worship and thinking. Spencer and I spent most of our time there discussing what we thought it would have looked like back in the day. The Palace is surrounded by walls with only a few gates that allow entry. Would there have been merchants and vendors in the squares selling food or goods of some kind to the common people? Were common people even allowed inside the Palace Gates or was it reserved for Government officials?
We decided to follow several people who were exiting out of one of the back gates. Turns out the gate leads to the Blue House. The Blue House is South Korea's equivalent to the White House. The Blue House has the same architectural structure and design as the traditional palace that sits just a few blocks south. It is a really beautiful building. It seemed far away but the entrance to the grounds was just across the street.
On our way home, a group of young Korean girls dressed in traditional hanbok dresses asked to take a picture with us which was pretty funny. We had to hurry home because we invited the Elders over for dinner. We made pasta because we still don't know any other stove top recipes. We'll start branching out eventually...I hope. For now, pasta and rice bowls it is. We had a really nice visit with the Elders. It's always fun to have the missionaries over.