Changgyeonggung Palace

Try saying that word 10 times fast (or even once at all)! I went to this palace on Sunday afternoon. It was another windy and cool day but the sun was out. Perfect weather for a walk around a palace. This palace is basically right in the middle of the city. It was only a 10 minute walk from the subway station! We don't have palaces in the US and if we did I doubt they would be right in the city.

This palace was built in the late 1400s by King Seongjong because the original palace was just too crowded. Then the Japanese came over and basically took control of it for quite some time. They destroyed it once, then rebuilt it. Then it burned down and was rebuilt again. Then in 1907 was destroyed again and replaced by a zoo and botanical garden. Then in 1983 the Korean government began to restore it to its original state (sans the garden and zoo).

I wondered around the grounds for a few hours. The grounds were beautiful and there was a lot to see. Here are my highlights.

There were 5 or 6 phone booths randomly placed around the palace. Weird.

This photo is crooked. Oops.