With out a doubt the two most popular historical attractions in Seoul to see are the Kyeongbukgung and Changdeokgung palaces. The Changdeokgung palace is even listed as UNESCO World Heritage Area, which has made guided tours mandatory in order to protect its cultural heritage. The Kyeongbukgung palace may not be World Heritage listed as its glamorous neighboring palace, but is still quite a stunning place to walk around and do your own self tour of Korea’s royal past.

However, two things each of these palaces share in common is the number of crowds that are drawn to these two famous and easily accessible palaces. If you are looking to visit a place a little less crowded while simultaneously being a location of important historical and cultural significance to Koreans, I highly recommend taking half a day and visiting the Jongmyo Shrine:

Jongmyo is accessed from the bustling Seoul district of Jongno. As busy as Jongno can be just across the entry gate into the Jongmyo Shrine lies a much more relaxed and serene atmosphere. Immediately upon entering the shrine, the environment of concrete buildings, pushy crowds, and zooming automobiles is replaced with tree line paths, fountains, and beautiful traditional Korean royal architecture:

Jongmyo Shrine was built to enshrine the spirit tablets of prior Chosun era kings and queens. Construction of the shrine began in 1394 when the Korean capitol was moved to Hanyang (present day Seoul) from Kaesong on the orders of the ruling King Taejo. Construction of the shrine was completed in 1395 and the first four spirit tablets enshrined at Jongmyo were the tablets of King Taejo’s four ancestors Mokjo, Ikjo, Dojo, and Hwanjo:

The shrine’s main building, Jeongjeon originally had seven main rooms and two auxiliary rooms but over the next two centuries four more main rooms were constructed to house more spirit tablets of the Chosun dynasty nobility. However, Jeongjeon would be burned down by the Japanese during the 1592 Hideyoshi invasion of the Korean peninsula. The shrine would not be rebuilt until 1608, ten years after the end of the war:

Following its reconstruction, succeeding Korean kings ordered the construction of more rooms which brought the total of rooms to house spirit tablets to its present day size of 19 rooms. In these 19 rooms the spirit tablets of 49 Korean royals are housed. The number of rooms that compose Jeongjeon has led to the building to be recognized as the longest independent building in all of Korea:

When King Taejo died his spirit tablet was housed in the far left of the building and some of the more well known Korean royalty to be enshrined here include kings Sejong, Sejo, and Gojong among a host of other Korean royals. Because of both its historic and cultural significance, Jongmyo is listed as Korean National Treasure 227 and like its nearby neighbor Changdeokgung, it was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in 1995:

Just a short walk from the main Jongmyo Shrine building is another building constructed to house royal ancestral spirit tablets. The Yeongnyeongjeon building was constructed in 1421 when the main building ran out of room to house spirit tablets. Like the main building, Yeongnyeongjeon was also torched and destroyed during the Hideyoshi invasion. It was reconstructed the same time as the original shrine. The building has a total of sixteen rooms with the four middle rooms being used to house the four original spirit tablets of King Taejo’s ancestors that were originally enshrined in the main building before being re-enshrined in Yeongnyeongjeong. The four rooms that house the tablets were built slightly higher then the other twelve rooms located adjacent to these four in a sign of respect to the seniority of the four original spirit tablets. Today in the sixteen total rooms of Yeongnyeongjeon, 34 spirit tablets have been enshrined:

Outside of the two main buildings housing the ancestral spirit tablets are number of smaller structures used for services provided at the shrine. One of these buildings is called Jeonsacheong, which was used to store the musical instruments, kitchen utensils, and to prepare food used during ancestral rites ceremonies held at the shrine:

Near Jeonsacheong is the four-meter well deep well named Jejeong. It is said that the clear and cool water provided from this well has never run dry. The water from this well was used for all the ancestral rites ceremonies held at the Jongmyo Shrine:

Another significant small structure located near the shrine is the building named Eosuksil, where the Korean King would bathe himself before conducting the annual ancestral rite ceremonies held at the shrine. The king and the crown prince would enter through the main gate and then bathe at this building before heading over to Jeongjeon or Yeongnyeongjeon to perform the ceremony:

The Jongmyo Shrine has some beautiful architecture which if you are into photography, you should be able to get some great pictures from, especially the Jeongjeon ancestral shrine building:

Even if you are not into photography the place is still great way to momentarily escape the city and enjoy some of the fresh air provided from the thickly forested shrine. Entry to the shrine is only a minimal fee and includes the added bonus of not only giving visitors access to the shrine but the Changgyeonggung palace complex as well. The palace is located just north of the shrine and can only be entered from the shrine by walking across a bridge that passes over a busy civilian thoroughfare:

I highly recommend that everyone give this palace a visit because it is really a nice hidden gem worth seeing for yourself in Seoul and next month is the best time to see Jongmyo and the adjacent palace because the yearly ancestral rites ceremony will be performed at Jongno on May 4, 2008. If you have never visited the shrine and the palace this is without a doubt an opportune time to do so.

Next Posting: Changgyeonggung Palace