My experience on Changdeokgung
*Above picture is the main hall of Changdeokgung Palace. Photo taken by Sherly.
I visited Seoul with my friends a few years ago. It was our first time going there and I was really excited! Why was Seoul chosen as our travel destination back then? I would be lying if I say “no, I wasn’t influenced by K-pop, K-drama or even K-variety show at all” when I picked Seoul as the next travelling destination. The curiosity of seeing the ‘real thing’ finally sparked after I had been dwelling in the world of K-pop and K-drama for a while.
As a first-timer, we only visited popular tourist attractions recommended by friends and information we found online. One of the places we visited was Changdeokgung Palace. I am going to share my experience of visiting the palace here.
Back then, we were aware that there were Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung, which are more popular as tourist attractions than the other palaces in Seoul. However, as our time was limited, we decided to visit only one of the palaces. We chose to visit Changdeokgung because it has Huwon (Secret Garden). We wondered why it is named ‘Secret Garden’ and we also wondered how secretive the garden will be.
The admission to the palace and the garden require separate tickets. Afterwards, we were free to roam around the palace complex. As for the garden, the entry can only be accompanied by a tour guide and the tour is conducted in different languages depending on the available timing.
I visited Seoul with my friends a few years ago. It was our first time going there and I was really excited! Why was Seoul chosen as our travel destination back then? I would be lying if I say “no, I wasn’t influenced by K-pop, K-drama or even K-variety show at all” when I picked Seoul as the next travelling destination. The curiosity of seeing the ‘real thing’ finally sparked after I had been dwelling in the world of K-pop and K-drama for a while.
As a first-timer, we only visited popular tourist attractions recommended by friends and information we found online. One of the places we visited was Changdeokgung Palace. I am going to share my experience of visiting the palace here.
Back then, we were aware that there were Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung, which are more popular as tourist attractions than the other palaces in Seoul. However, as our time was limited, we decided to visit only one of the palaces. We chose to visit Changdeokgung because it has Huwon (Secret Garden). We wondered why it is named ‘Secret Garden’ and we also wondered how secretive the garden will be.
The admission to the palace and the garden require separate tickets. Afterwards, we were free to roam around the palace complex. As for the garden, the entry can only be accompanied by a tour guide and the tour is conducted in different languages depending on the available timing.
*Above picture is inside the Huwon.
Fun fact: The shape of this pond was made according to the shape of the Korean Peninsula.
The palace building area
Although it is said that Changdeokgung is smaller than Gyeongbokgung, I found that Changdeokgung palace complex is huge. I could not compare it with Gyeongbokgung since I did not visit Gyeongbokgung. It requires a lot of walking to explore the whole palace complex.
Not so far from the palace entrance, there is a huge courtyard which is the main hall of the palace. In my opinion, this area is one of the most spectacular sections within the palace complex. With white clouds and the bright blue sky as the background of the main hall, it is really quite a sight and it is a great place to take some nice shots to keep it as a memory.
Other than public palace area, another section within the palace complex is the royal family residence. The location of the royal family residence is more hidden and thus, the view is much less spectacular. However, this is the section where we can admire the architecture of the palace buildings and the furniture inside the buildings. Personally, this section was less interesting because I did not know the story behind the building architecture and the purpose of each building.
Fun fact: The shape of this pond was made according to the shape of the Korean Peninsula.
The palace building area
Although it is said that Changdeokgung is smaller than Gyeongbokgung, I found that Changdeokgung palace complex is huge. I could not compare it with Gyeongbokgung since I did not visit Gyeongbokgung. It requires a lot of walking to explore the whole palace complex.
Not so far from the palace entrance, there is a huge courtyard which is the main hall of the palace. In my opinion, this area is one of the most spectacular sections within the palace complex. With white clouds and the bright blue sky as the background of the main hall, it is really quite a sight and it is a great place to take some nice shots to keep it as a memory.
Other than public palace area, another section within the palace complex is the royal family residence. The location of the royal family residence is more hidden and thus, the view is much less spectacular. However, this is the section where we can admire the architecture of the palace buildings and the furniture inside the buildings. Personally, this section was less interesting because I did not know the story behind the building architecture and the purpose of each building.
Huwon (Secret garden)
The secret garden is probably the highlight of the Changdeokgung palace. As mentioned previously, to enter the garden, it has to be with a guided tour group. We wanted to join the English-speaking tour initially. However, as we had missed the timing for English-speaking tour and the next available slot is a Mandarin-speaking tour, we joined the Mandarin one instead. In my opinion, the tour guide spoke in Korean-accented Mandarin. Thus, there were times when I could not manage to catch her explanation. Even so, the overall explanation was still understandable.
I was hoping that I would see flowers everywhere in the garden but contrary to my expectations, I only saw everything in green! The garden consisted of mostly trees, ponds, streams and pavilions. More walking was needed as compared to when we explored the public palace area. Another thing which I totally did not expect was that we would need to hike within the garden sometimes, as the land is actually uneven.
To be honest, the tour within the garden was pretty stamina-consuming. Yet, it was also relaxing and serene inside. I could understand why in the past, the royal family members loved to spend their leisure time in the garden.
On the top of that, with a tour guide explaining the history of the secret garden to us, I enjoyed exploring the garden more than exploring the palace buildings.
Final note
After visiting the palace, I would recommend that you visit the palace at least once, especially to those who are genuinely interested in Korean history. Do travel at a slower pace and allocate around 3-4 hours when visiting the palace so that you can enjoy the palace experience fully. Do a little bit of reading up before visiting the palace , or join the guided tour for both the palace buildings and the secret garden so that it will be more interesting. Do drink plenty of water and wear comfortable shoes because a lot of walking is needed.
As to the best time to visit, do visit the palace during autumn when autumn foliage has appeared! The garden will be more beautiful because the leaves will be in different colors. I visited Seoul during the transition of summer to autumn when the autumn foliage had not even started. Thus explained why there were only green trees back then.
Last but not least, I hope my Changdeokgung palace experience is helpful to you.
Writer : Sherly
The secret garden is probably the highlight of the Changdeokgung palace. As mentioned previously, to enter the garden, it has to be with a guided tour group. We wanted to join the English-speaking tour initially. However, as we had missed the timing for English-speaking tour and the next available slot is a Mandarin-speaking tour, we joined the Mandarin one instead. In my opinion, the tour guide spoke in Korean-accented Mandarin. Thus, there were times when I could not manage to catch her explanation. Even so, the overall explanation was still understandable.
I was hoping that I would see flowers everywhere in the garden but contrary to my expectations, I only saw everything in green! The garden consisted of mostly trees, ponds, streams and pavilions. More walking was needed as compared to when we explored the public palace area. Another thing which I totally did not expect was that we would need to hike within the garden sometimes, as the land is actually uneven.
To be honest, the tour within the garden was pretty stamina-consuming. Yet, it was also relaxing and serene inside. I could understand why in the past, the royal family members loved to spend their leisure time in the garden.
On the top of that, with a tour guide explaining the history of the secret garden to us, I enjoyed exploring the garden more than exploring the palace buildings.
Final note
After visiting the palace, I would recommend that you visit the palace at least once, especially to those who are genuinely interested in Korean history. Do travel at a slower pace and allocate around 3-4 hours when visiting the palace so that you can enjoy the palace experience fully. Do a little bit of reading up before visiting the palace , or join the guided tour for both the palace buildings and the secret garden so that it will be more interesting. Do drink plenty of water and wear comfortable shoes because a lot of walking is needed.
As to the best time to visit, do visit the palace during autumn when autumn foliage has appeared! The garden will be more beautiful because the leaves will be in different colors. I visited Seoul during the transition of summer to autumn when the autumn foliage had not even started. Thus explained why there were only green trees back then.
Last but not least, I hope my Changdeokgung palace experience is helpful to you.
Writer : Sherly
