The last I was here, I was quite enthusiastic about creating content once again. But then I fell down the stairs and twisted my ankle really badly, was bed ridden for two weeks. During this time, a lost hearing in one ear temporarily and a doctor told me I had irreversible deafness for which he prescribed some steroids. It was a nightmare of a month but I'm back on my two feet and both my ears have sharp hearing once again. Phew!
To celebrate, I went with some friends on a night tour of the Gyeongbokgung Palace. The Gyeongbokgung Palace is Seoul's largest palace and was the main royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty. It is located in what used to be the seat of Seoul. The palace itself is really popular amongst both local and international tourists all year round. But there is a special night tour of the palace every year, open for just 6 weeks from May - June.
My dance teacher had booked slots for us way back in March for a Friday night. I planned to take the day off anyway but spent it going to three different doctor check-ups! I was glad for the trip - we have had a 4 person gathering limit in Seoul since last December and haven't been able to hang out as larger groups. Thankfully, there were no limits in gathering numbers at the palace because of the larger tour groups and we could go as a group of 8! The sun begins to set in Seoul these days at around 7. The palace gates open only for two hours from 7 30 to 9 30. A quick subway ride brought me to the palace entrance where I met my friends.
I would usually talk about the history of the palace but I wouldn't be saying anything different than what can be found on a Wikipedia page. The first time I visited the palace, I was very interested in stopping by every structure, reading my guidebook carefully and coming home and reading more about it. This time, I went simply for the experience of seeing something. To take everything in visually. Have a nice time with my friends. So instead, I'm going to talk about how I felt walking through the palace.
Our small group in front of the palace. It was nice to see the palace at sunset and be around for when the lights were just turning on. Subway Line 3 brought me directly to the palace's front courtyard. I felt a bit strange ot be around 7 others. It felt like we were doing something wrong. We haven't hung out in this kind of group in a long time.
When I first came to Korea, I was disconcerted by how many pictures Koreans liked to take of one another. It is polite in Korean culture to take nice pictures of them pretty much anywhere. It's entirely normal for Koreans to ask their friends to take pictures of them. Bonus points if you take pictures of those around you without them asking you to. My friends back home might laugh at me if I ask them to take pictures of me at a café or even at the palace. I've grown to embrace the picture-taking aspect of friendships here and even enjoy it these days! Here's a picture of two friends of mine who met at our swing dancing bar and got married last year. They're also great posers.
One of us had also brought along a small tripod which we then set up to take pictures of ourselves while trying to make hearts that actually look like potatoes.
It is said that the Koreans chose this location for the palace because it was well protected by mountains on all sides. Despite being in the now commercial district of Seoul, there's a sense of peace inside the palace. Much of what we see today has been restored after the palace was destroyed during the Japanese occupation in early 1900s. Here, we can catch a glimpse of the Bukhansan mountain.
This is my favourite way to view Seoul - where the traditional and modern meet. So much Korean culture is an amalgamation of of hyper-advanced technology with more traditional culture like meeting at tea-houses or household practices of taking shoes off or linguistic practices of expressing respect to those above you. It's all the things that I love about living here because it is in many ways similar to the culture that I was brought up in.
The sky is never black in Seoul. Light pollution is high in the country and the night skies turn into deep shades of blue. We were here on a particularly well moonlit night although the moon was around for decoration and the light came from pretty much everywhere else!
Looking at the quarters for the different palace personnel made me wonder what it would be like to live in a palace like this in today's world. I reckon one of the reasons why luxury palace hotels in Rajasthan are popular is exactly for this reason. What is it about palaces and castles that makes us want to live the life of that kings and queens once lived?
One of the highlights of the night tour is being able to see the reflection of this hall on the water below. The spot was filled with tourists like us vying for a spot to take a picture of this beautiful structure. Gyeongbokgung and Korea in general receives a lot of international tourism. Just like other places, the tourism economy has been hit hard. Despite everything, it was nice to see so many local Seoulites being tourists in their own city. The palace has a free entry policy for those who rent traditional attire, hanbok, and visit. Maybe next time, I can be the ultimate tourist in my own city!