[Walking Course in Jongno, Seoul] Unhyeongung Palace

 Unhyeongung Palace

Jongno in Seoul has been a center of commerce and palaces such as Gyeongbokgung Palace and Jongmyo Shrine for a long time. Especially, Gahoe-dong is an area where traditional Hanok houses are gathered while Jongno and Sejong-ro is an area where tradition and modernity coexist as you can find modern tall buildings and shopping malls.

In this post, we will introduce you Unhyeongung Palace, one of the cultural sites located in Jongno.

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We took picture of the AREX mascot, Nareu as a remembrance of our first visit to Unhyeongung Palace in Seoul.

Unhyeongung Palace, designated as Historic Site No. 257 of the city of Seoul on November 22, 1977, was a house of Heungseon Daewongun in late Joseon Dynasty. It was also s Jamjeo, where King Gojong, the second son of Heungseon Daewongun, was born and grew up until he ascended the throne at the age of 12. This is also a base for Heungseon Daewongun's political activities that he did on behalf of his young son for about ten years.

Unhyeongung Palace is free admission for citizens, so anyone can visit this palace. The operating hours in Summer and Winter are different, so please refer to it before visiting. Also, strollers and wheelchairs are available for rent, If necessary, you can ask the staff at the information center or office.

Firstly, after passing through the entrance of Unhyeongung Palace, you will see a spacious yard. The quiet and peaceful palace that is located in the middle of many buildings creates a different atmosphere as if time had stopped. We will take a look at each room and space starting from the entrance.

A special exhibition was held from June 23 to 29, 2021 at the Unhyeongung Palace Special Exhibition Hall. Through Dowon, Lee Young-ja's exhibition entitled "2021, Difference of Healing", we managed to enjoy some art work associated with fairy tales.

In Relics Exhibition Room, you can learn and understand the value of Unhyeongung Palace and the flow of the late Joseon Dynasty from the relics related to Unhyeongung Palace and Heungseon Daewongun. You can easily check the location and name of each place by looking at the Unhyeongung Palace model.

You can find the clothes worn by the king and queen during rituals, various relics of Unhyeongung Palace's lifestyle and others. The relics that are displaying here are reproductions, and the actual artifacts are stored and exhibited at the Seoul Museum of History.

This place has great educational significance because you can learn about things at that time such as Chukhwabi (anti-appeasement steles), Wonnapjeon (currency), Dangbaejeon (currency) and the clothing too.

IRODANG

Irodang

Irodang Hall is the main building of Unhyeongung Palace. "Iro" refers to Regent Heungseon and his wife, Yeo Heung-min. In 1866 (3rd year of King Gojong) King Gojong and Empress Myeongseong were married. After that, whenever they visited Unhyeongung Palace, they would stay at Norakdang Hall. The hall was built in 1869(6th year of King Gojong) and located behind Noandang and Norakdang Hall.

NORAKDANG

Norakdang

Norakdang Hall is the most central building in Unhyeongung Palace and was mainly used for large events such as 60th birthday party or other feasts. The scale of this hall is spectacular compared to the palace.

NOANDANG

Noandang

Noandang Hall is the saranchae (men’s quarter) where Regent Heungseon resided. The word ‘noan’ (elderly) means living comfortably in old age. The hall was built in 1864 (1st year of King Gojong) together with Norakdang Hall.

Sujiksa

Sujiksa

Sujiksa, located on the right side of the main gate, is the building where guards and maintenance staff lived.

After King Gojong ascended to the throne and Regent Heungseon was gaining more power, he required more guards and soldiers for his protection. So, the Unhyeongung Palace also became much bigger. Currently, the household items such as brazier, furniture, lamp, etc used at that time is exhibited as how it was in the room.

When you look at Unhyeongung Palace in terms of the size and style, it is more like a palace than the house of nobleman. However, sadly the size of Unhyeongung Palace decreased significantly as a large part of the space was sold after the Korean War.

If you want to learn more about this palace, we highly recommend you to visit this royal cultural center, Unhyeongung Palace that can be found in Jongno, Seoul!

[Information about Unhyeongung Palace]

Address: 464 Samil-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Operating Hours: 09:00 ~ 18:00 daily (Last admission 17:30) *Closed on Monday (If public holiday falls on Monday, it will be opened)

Getting There:  At AREX Seoul Station, take bus #151 ▶ Get off at Changdeokgung Palace-Seoul Museum of Korean Folk Music stop, walk 366m