🎧 Yul's Korea Audio Guide
Gyeongbokgung Palace & Gwanghwamun
Narrated in English with Korean phrases by YUL of KVIBE IDOLS.
🎵 Background music: Still in That Spring (그 봄에 머물러) — KVIBE IDOLS · Listen to the full song →
Full transcript
Annyeong, yeoreobun! Hello, everyone! It's Yul from KVIBE IDOLS, your history-nerd tour guide. Today, we're standing in front of the biggest, most dramatic palace in Korea. Gyeongbokgung. Ready? Let's go!
So. The year is 1395. A brand-new kingdom called Joseon has just been born, and its first king, Taejo, moves the capital to a city called Hanyang. Today, we call it Seoul. And what does a new king need? A palace! The name Gyeongbok means, quote, a palace greatly blessed by heaven. Pretty confident, right?
But here's the plot twist. In 1592, Japanese armies invade, and this beautiful, blessed palace... burns to the ground. And then? Nothing. For almost three hundred years, it's just ruins. Can you imagine? The king's palace, empty, for three centuries!
Then, in the 1860s, a very stubborn man named Heungseon Daewongun, the father of the young King Gojong, says: we are rebuilding it. All of it. Bigger. And by 1867, the palace rises again. Daebak!
But the drama isn't over. In the twentieth century, during the Japanese colonial period, most of the buildings were torn down, and a giant government building was placed right in front of the throne hall. Korea only removed that building in the 1990s, and the restoration is still going on today. So every stone you see here is a little story of a country refusing to give up.
Yul's tip! Look at the big gate, Gwanghwamun. At 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., you can watch the royal guard changing ceremony, with drums and colorful uniforms. And here's the best part: if you wear hanbok, the traditional Korean clothes, you get in for free. The palace is closed on Tuesdays, so plan ahead.
Next time, I'll take you to a quiet village where the nobles of Joseon lived. Kaja! Let's go!
