Changdeokgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea is a UNESCO World Heritage site built in 1405 and restored in 1611. Behind the palace it has a rear garden, also known as the “secret garden,” which one can tour in English.
Changdeokgung was was the principal palace for many kings of the Joseon Dynasty. And the secret garden was a place for them to relax, study, worship, and be in nature.
A place for the emperor or crown prince to worship. You had to take off your shoes to preserve the original flooring.
There were also residences for the court, including concubines and their children.
The doors below led to an underground furnace and chimney, which supplied the under-floor heating system, necessary in winter to heat the entire palace.
See pictures of it in the fall with the beautiful leaves changing color here: Huwon Secret Garden.
This post is for Norm 2.0’s Thursday Doors, a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. I’ll be sharing doors from my recent trip to East Asia for the next several Thursdays.
These are wonderful – it must have been quite an interesting tour. Looking forward to seeing what else you found on your trip 🙂
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What a beautiful place.
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Heated floors! They were way ahead of their time.
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Ah, forgot about the doors – they remind me of doors in Japan (the latter must have had some influence when they occupied Korea)…
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That must have been an interesting trip! Have several Korean friends, and it’s pretty common, even for private residences to take ones shoes off when entering.
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It’s amazing to see photos of something that was ” restored in 1611″ given that we hardly have anything in this country that dates back that far.
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Attractive doors and who wouldn’t love to have a secret garden? I know I would.
janet
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A very beautiful architectural piece. Thanks for sharing.
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