Category: 종로구(Jongnogu)

Gyeongbokgung (Hangul: 경복궁; Hanja: 景福宮), also known as Gyeongbokgung Palace or Gyeongbok Palace, was the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty. Built in 1395, it is located in northern Seoul, South Korea. The largest of the Five Grand Palaces built by the Joseon dynasty, Gyeongbokgung served as the home of Kings of the Joseon dynasty, the Kings’ households, as well as the government of Joseon.

Gyeongbokgung continued to serve as the main palace of the Joseon dynasty until the premises were destroyed by fire during the Imjin War and abandoned for two centuries. However, in the 19th century, all of the palace’s 7,700 rooms were later restored under the leadership of Prince Regent Heungseon during the reign of King Gojong. Some 500 buildings were restored on a site of over 40 hectares. The architectural principles of ancient Korea were incorporated into the tradition and appearance of the Joseon royal court.

In the early 20th century, much of the palace was systematically destroyed by Imperial Japan. Since then, the walled palace complex is gradually being reconstructed to its original form. Today, the palace is arguably regarded as being the most beautiful and grandest of all five palaces. It also houses the National Palace Museum of Korea and the National Folk Museum within the premises of the complex.

Sejongno (Hangul: 세종로; Hanja: 世宗路), also known as Sejong-ro, is a street that runs through Jongno-gu in downtown Seoul. It is named after King Sejong the Great of Joseon. The street is 600 meters in length, but due to its central location it is of great symbolic importance. It points north to Gwanaksan and Bukhansan (Mountains), and the Joseon Dynasty palace, Gyeongbokgung. It is also of historical significance as the location for royal administrative buildings and features statues of the Admiral Yi Sun-sin of Joseon Dynasty and King Sejong the Great of Joseon.

Nagwon Musical Instrument Arcade has traditionally been Korea’s largest collection of music stores and is very close to Insa-dong. The second and third floors of the Nagwon building has a few hundred music stores clustered together. Wind instruments, string instruments, percussion, pianos, electric instruments, amps, speakers, karaoke machines, audio equipment, and other music equipment can be found there. Countless people are there to sell or repair instruments for beginners and experts alike.

Built in 1968, the Nagwon building is a uniquely constructed pillar based complex. On the first floor, there are hundreds of pillars with a four lane road going through them and a market below. Above the shopping area, there are apartments. On the fourth floor, there’s a theater that used to premiere films and was called the ‘Hollywood Theater’. Now, it has turned into the ‘Seoul Art Cinema’ and ‘dance musical private theater’ which play ‘Silver Theater’ films for senior citizens, independent films, and other specialty films.