Changdeokgung Secret Garden
Royal woodland garden of pavilions, lotus ponds and centuries-old trees once forbidden to ordinary people.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Changdeokgung Secret Garden follows Crown Prince Hyomyeong, who at seventeen was already ruling in place of his ailing father, King Sunjo, inside a royal garden closed for five centuries to anyone but the king and his heir. It traces the small study pavilion he built here to read and compose court dances, among them a piece still performed today, and the powerful clan he pushed out of power during his brief regency. Look for the pavilion ahead, built for reading rather than ruling.
This audio guide was created using AI.
Similar places
Changdeokgung
Joseon-dynasty palace of pavilions and courtyards behind a fortified gate, with a private wooded garden beyond.
Gyeongbokgung Palace
Reconstructed fourteenth-century royal palace complex with grand throne halls, a lotus pond pavilion, and daily guard-changing ceremonies.
Changgyeonggung Palace
Sprawling royal complex where a Joseon prince died sealed in a rice chest, later reborn as a colonial-era zoo and garden.
Gyeonghuigung Palace
Reconstructed Joseon-dynasty secondary palace built to smother a rumored royal prophecy.
Jongmyo Shrine
Confucian royal shrine of plain wooden halls housing centuries of enshrined ancestral tablets.
Samcheong-dong Street
Hanok-lined lane of art galleries, cafes and boutiques stretching along a historic palace wall.