An Autumn Visit to Unhyeongung Palace in Seoul, South Korea
One November day when I was in the Jongno-gu area, I took a quick trip to Unhyeongung Palace. I’d heard it had some nice fall foliage – and I was on a mission to see and photograph all I could this fall!
I’ve been to Gyeongbokgung Palace, which is overwhelmingly enormous, and exhausting for an old like me to cover the whole grounds. Same with Changdeokgung Palace. So a more managably-sized palace appealed to me.
In looking up some of its history (very involved, if you want to read more about it, visit this site), I wanted to see if it was the smallest palace in Seoul (because it was quite charmingly small). The internet, in all its “if it’s on the internet it must be true” questionable wisdom, says it is not the smallest palace, that Deoksugung Palace is the smallest. And far be it from me to question The INTERNET, but…I’ve been to both of those palaces, and while I did not take my tape measure, I do have eyes…and unless there’s some secret Korean measuring method that I’m unaware of, Unhyeongung Palace is much smaller. The smallest, in fact.
Fight me.
It was not flashy…it was quite simple in overall design. Most of the palaces have the brightly-painted eaves, this one stuck to natural dark wood brown, which was quite nice. The woodwork itself was beautiful. I love the intricate workmanship of the wooden doors and gates.
The palace and outbuildings were originally built in the 14th century (coming from the US it constantly amazes me how old things in Korea are!). Not all the original structures remain, as much of it was destroyed during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), but some of the early construction is still standing. In 1993 a reconstruction was done and they did a really good job as I couldn’t tell which was the new and which was the old!
It was very quiet, with few other visitors. It did seem like maybe there was a wedding going on in one building, as I caught just the tail end of a traditional band marching into the building. So apparently it can be used as a wedding venue, which would be nice.
I just walked around quietly, taking pictures, sitting and enjoying the peace of the early November day.
In hindsight I learned there’s a small museum on the grounds, not sure how I missed that, but.
If you’re in the area and need a little escape from the hustle and bustle of the city surrounding you, it’s a lovely little side jaunt. Ooh, and it’s free!
Website: https://www.unhyeongung.or.kr/
Address: 464 Samil-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul 03131 South Korea
Email: help@unhyeongung.or.kr
Phone: 02-766-9090
NaverMaps Link: https://naver.me/FrKAZFTA
GoogleMaps Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/5B9JrDn4bYW9QKwbA
Hours: April-October: 09:00–19:00 / November-March: 09:00-18:00. Closed Mondays.
Admission: Free
Marian
I’m greatly enjoying all your Korea posts, but these descriptions and photos of your sightseeing adventures are just marvelous! I can’t travel right now and seeing Korea through your lens is so much fun. Armchair travel at its best! Thank you for sharing all these wonderful sights.
I admire your grit overcoming all the transportation and stair challenges. You always sound quite positive. I think I have a decent amount of grit but I’d be a whining puddle if I was in some of your situations.
Make the most of this time! You’ll have great memories and stories.
bettyewp
Oh, trust me, I WHINE, ha ha. I try to keep it to a minimum to other people, cuz I really don’t want to be that negative, complaining person. But secretly, I AM that whining, negative, complaining person 🙂
I plan to do more of these little “go with me to ____” posts, so I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it!
I’m really not very good at this kind of post yet…I always get home and remember there was a place I didn’t go, or things I didn’t take pictures of…I hope to get better with practice, so please bear with me!
xoxo Bettye
Nancy
Happy 1st of December Bettye!
I hope you had a wonderful time at Unhyeongung! The last fall foliage is stunning, how is the snow here treating you?
Agreed, Unhyeongung is much smaller than Deoksugung, much, much smaller !
I’ve been following your journey, reading (devouring) and enjoying your weekly posts!
Very much looking forward to your new posts. It’s been entertaining, insightful and also emotional (I’ve also been in a situation here where I had to accept and let go of people).
I hope you’re taking care of yourself. It’s alright to grieve, be happy, to love, to rest, and revel in the wonder and whimsy you find in South Korea.
It’s all part of the experience, and it’s what makes your life so wonderfully layered and poetic!
Much love,
Nancy
P.S starting my first semester at Yonsei next week, we’re sort of close in terms of schools, kind of!
bettyewp
Gasp, a someone in Korea person! I’m so excited! You’re going to Yonsei, wow! Language program or “regular” college? Did you just arrive in Korea or have you been here awhile…wait…your email seems familiar – do you do a blog, also??
I’ve (unfortunately) mostly stayed out of the snow cuz I have no winter shoes, just canvas sneakers. I will say, Seoul not as good at snow removal as NY was. NY had it taken care of before it even started! Sanding roads, salting walkways, closing schools, etc. Here, you walk through slippery slush for days. But I saw my entire IG feed go from fall foliage fall foliage fall foliage to SNOW SNOW SNOW overnight.
PS: I did just order some more practical winter shoes, they should be here in a few days. So NEXT TIME I can go out in it more!
Thanks for reading and commenting! Maybe we could meet for coffee or something sometime!