Experience Korean Traditional Culture in Gwanghwamun
Gwanghwamun is the main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, representing Korea's history and culture.
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| Source: Korea Tourism Organization |
Gwanghwamun is the southern gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace and the main gate of the palace. Gwanghwamun was also the main gate of the king's visit, but since it was the main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace, the court of Joseon, it was very grand and colorful in size and formality compared to the main gate of other palaces. In addition, Gwanghwamun was the only one of the five major palaces in Joseon to have a civil door format, with simultaneous and sipsagak on the east and west of the end of the fence, respectively.
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| Source: Korea Tourism Organization |
Gwanghwamun consists of three Hongye on a stylobate stone axis that supports the middle-layered gate, allowing the king to enter the center and the crown prince and his servants to enter the left and right Hongye. The gate 樓 was used to signal the time when a bell was hung. As such, the fact that Gyeongbokgung Palace is the court of the Joseon Dynasty can be confirmed in the form of Gwanghwamun and other gateways. Other palace gates are built on a low platform, but the gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace takes the form of a castle gate by stacking high stone walls with stone walls and building a Hongye gate in the center. Gwanghwamun shows the most formal appearance with three Hongye gates among them. It shows that Gwanghwamun is the main gate of the Beopgung Palace. At the time of the establishment of Gyeongbokgung Palace, it was called "午 Gate" according to the palace without a special name, and was renamed "Jungmun" by Jeong Do-jeon in the third year (1395) of King Taejo, but in the 8th year of King Sejong's reign, when Gyeongbokgung Palace was repaired, it was named "Gwanghwamun Gate" in Jiphyeonjeon Hall.
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When the building of the Japanese Government-General of Korea was constructed, Gwanghwamun was originally moved north of Geonchunmun, the alumni of the palace, but the gate was destroyed and the stonework was covered with bullet marks during the Korean War. Meanwhile, it was not until the Park Chung-hee administration that Gwanghwamun was rebuilt in its present state in 1968
| Source: Korea Tourism Organization |
The destroyed gate tower was rebuilt and Gwanghwamun was moved to its current location. However, the newly rebuilt Gwanghwamun was constructed of reinforced concrete, and the axis of Gwanghwamun was not aligned with the central axis of Gyeongbokgung Palace at the time of its reconstruction, but with the axis of the former Government-General of Korea, which was used as the central office at the time, and as a result, it was misaligned with the original axis by about 3.5 degrees. In addition, he retreated about 14.5 meters from the original Gwanghwamun site and stood where he is now. In order to restore Gwanghwamun, which lost its original form, the demolition work began in 2006 and was completed on August 15, 2010 after three years and eight months of restoration. A heavy granite base was built, and a two-story gate was placed on it to provide a good view and represent the dignity as the main gate to the palace. The three arched doors on the base show off the dignity of Gyeongbokgung Palace as the court palace of Joseon. On the stone base, a small wall was surrounded with a brick-like "Jeondol" made of soil, and the eight-way pattern decorated here reflects the characteristics of the Joseon Dynasty's palace.
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Location: 175, Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Traffic: Gwanghwamun Station on Subway Line 5, Gyeongbokgung Station on Subway Line 3
Nearby tourist attractions: Gyeongbokgung Palace, Deoksugung Palace, Cheonggyecheon Stream, Insa-dong, etc
Source: Korea Tourism Organization
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