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Gangnyeongjeon Hall
It is
the king's sleeping quarters,
but sometimes official functions
were held on the stone veranda.
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| Hyangomun Gate, built into the corridor
behind Sajeongjeon Hall, leads to the living
quarters. Gyeongbokgung has separate bedchambers
for the king and the queen. Gangnyeongjeon
Hall is the king's living quarters and Gyotaejeon
Hall, entered through Yanguimun Gate behind
the king's quarters, is for the queen. The
king and the queen carried on their routine
affairs in the living quarters. They threw
occasional parties for their relatives as
well. It does not mean that state affairs
were not handled here. The king sometimes
called his court officials to his living
quarters to discuss national affairs. |
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The ceiling painting inside Gangnyeongjeon.
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Yanguimun Gate through which is
Gyotaejeon Hall |
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Fires burned down Gangnyeongjeon
three times, including a fire during King
Sejong's reign(1397-1450), which broke out
while expanding the quarters and laying
out the under-floor heating flues. It was
restored when the palace was rebuilt in
the late 19th century but was demolished
in 1918 to supply wood to rebuild the burned-down
living quarters in Changdeokgung Palace.
The material was used to build Huijeongdang
Hall in Changdeokgung Palace in 1920.
The current Gangnyeongjeon Hall was built
in 1995. The arrangement of the rooms is
characterized by Ondol(heated-floor) rooms
on the left and right with a wide wooden-floor
space in the middle and a wide stone veranda
in front. Special festivities took place
on this veranda. For large-scale feasts
thrown by the king or the queen, temporary
steps were installed to facilitate access
for participants. |
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The Gangnyeongjeon Compound
seen from Gyotaejeon Hall. |
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The Gyotaejeon Compound seen
from Jagyeongjeon Hall. |
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| The arrangement of the
rooms in Gyotaejeon, the queen's living
quarters, is similar to the king's quarters.
The only difference is that there is no
stone veranda in front. The structures of
the buildings are also the same ; no ridges
decorate the top of the roofs, and inside
are two parallel beams. There are various
opinions about why there are no roof ridges,
but no definitive reason has been found.
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The
decorated chimneys for Gangnyeongjeon
are located on the left and right
of the building that serves as the
southern wall of the Gyotaejeon
quarters.
The chimney is decorated with the
Chinese characters for long, endless
life." ¢º
¢¸ The chimney is decorated with
the Chinese characters for thousands
of years." |
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| Gyotaejeon was torn down
when Gangnyeongjeon was dismantled and the
material was used to build Daejojeon Hall
in Changdeokgung Palace. Behind Gyotaejeon
is an artificial mound, called Amisan, using
the same Chinese characters for Mt. Emei,
a nod to the Chinese mountain that is said
to be the most beautiful and most mysterious.
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Amisan mound seen from Yonhuimun
Gate |
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Amisan Mound behind Gyotaejeon
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| Flower terraces are laid
out on this hill, along with the chimneys
that draw out smoke from the heating flues
in Gyotaejeon. The hill also has stone structures
symbolizing lakes and ponds, creating an
imaginary scene of harmony between mountains
and lakes. |
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¢¸ The Wall of Gyotaejeon |
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Heumgyeonggak
Jang Yeong-sil
built it in 1438(the 20th year of
King Sejong). The building housed
Ongnugiryun, the astronomical water
clock indicating seasons and hours. |
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Animals in
relief on chimney bricks. |
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Animals in
relief on chimney bricks. |
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| The chimneys were rebuilt
at the time Gyotaejeon was restored and
on the surfaces of the hexagonal structures
are wonderful patterns of vines, bats, Chinese
phoenixes, pines, apricot trees, chrysanthemums,
herbs of eternal youth, rocks, birds and
deer. These are engraved in plaster on the
sides of the chimneys. |
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The royal sleeping quarters
seen from Jagyeongjeon. |
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