Gyeongbokgung Palace
Reconstructed fourteenth-century royal palace complex with grand throne halls, a lotus pond pavilion, and daily guard-changing ceremonies.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Gyeongbokgung Palace follows two moments in the private quarters King Gojong built for himself: the flickering 'bum light,' Korea's first electric lighting, installed in 1887 and nicknamed for how often it failed, and the early morning of October 8th, 1895, when armed men forced their way into the compound looking for the queen. You'll hear who Empress Myeongseong was, and what the nickname 'water light' had to do with the pond beside these walls. Listen for the small pavilion at the edge of the grounds as you pass it.
This audio guide was created using AI.
Similar places
Deoksugung Palace
Korean Empire palace mixing a dragon-and-gold throne hall with a neoclassical European wing.
Changdeokgung
Joseon-dynasty palace of pavilions and courtyards behind a fortified gate, with a private wooded garden beyond.
Gyeonghuigung Palace
Reconstructed Joseon-dynasty secondary palace built to smother a rumored royal prophecy.
Changgyeonggung Palace
Sprawling royal complex where a Joseon prince died sealed in a rice chest, later reborn as a colonial-era zoo and garden.
Changdeokgung Secret Garden
Royal woodland garden of pavilions, lotus ponds and centuries-old trees once forbidden to ordinary people.
The National Folk Museum of Korea
Pagoda-shaped museum inside a royal palace, copied from Buddhist temples and slated for relocation.