• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.52 no.3
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• pp.130-145
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• 2019

The palaces in South Korea are largely divided into primary palaces (法宮) and secondary palaces (離宮). In the early Joseon period, the primary palace was Gyeongbokgung Palace, and the secondary palace was Changdeokgung Palace. Additionally, there is the concept of imperial palaces (正宮). Gyeongbokgung Palace was the primary palace and the imperial palace. The topography of Gyeongbokgung is based on Mt. Baegak, which is the symbol of royal authority. The location of the palaces was chosen to highlight the king's dignity and authority. The three gates and three courts (三門三朝) were positioned on a straight line based on one axis along the ridge of Mt. Baegak to establish the legitimacy, hierarchy, and unity of the kingship. The secondary palace was built according to the demands of the king and the royal family or the political situation. It was created as a royal living space; thus, creating independent and diverse spaces along multiple axes. The primary palace was chosen to be built on the terrain of Yang, and the secondary palace was chosen to be built on the terrain of Yin; the criteria for laying buildings in the palace areas had to be different. The most important point in the formation of Joseon palaces was that the secret vital energy for the king (王氣) originated from the sacred mountain. Important elements of the palace were the secret vital energy chain of feng shui (風水氣脈) and the forbidden stream (禁川). The secret vital energy chain of feng shui was the gateway to the secret vital energy for the king, and the forbidden stream was a method of preventing the king from leaving the palace grounds. Gyeongbokgung Palace, which is on typical feng shui terrain, faithfully reflects the principles of feng shui. On the other hand, the secondary palace was built on incomplete and irregular feng shui terrain. Feng shui was part of the nature and the geography of the ruling classes in the Joseon Dynasty. By examining their geography, I believe that the perfection of traditional culture inheritance and restoration can be improved.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.16-37
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• 2015

As a result of analyzing the forming and the transformations of Seokjojeon Hall garden by linking it to the changes of Deoksugung Palace influenced by the social atmosphere, the Seokjojeon garden can be classified into four phases. The first phase starts from 1896 to 1914. Gyeongungung was built in the late 19th century(1896-1897) as an official palace and Junghwajeon Hall and Seokjojeon Hall was built for Gojong. J.M.Brown was in charge of the construction of Seokjojeon in the beginning but H.W.Davidson saw the end also set up the garden. In the process of forming the garden the incorporating of Dondeokjeon Hall and the demolishing of the west wing corridors of Junghwajeon Hall occurred. At this phase of the garden a statue of an eagle was put up in the garden but was soon taken down. The shape of the garden was quiet simple with a central axial pathway, a round assorted flower bed placed in front of Seokjojeon Hall. The second phase starts from 1915 to 1932 which lasted for 17 years. At the last years of the Great Han Empire the duties of Gungnaebu(宮內府) was transferred to Leewangjik(李王職) in 1911 and a research on the existing buildings was done by Jujeonkwa(主殿課) in 1915. According to the research drawings, the garden still maintained the axial pathway formed in the previous phase but the garden had an asymmetric form. The flower bed was formed in a round shape and an open-knot technique and boundary plantation was applied to the garden. The third phase starts from 1933 to 1937 and is the period when Seokjojeon Hall was made public. By the year of 1932 many buildings of Deoksugung Palace had been demolished in the preparation of the opening of Seokjojeon Hall as a permanent exhibition hall. The central axial pathway still remained in the new garden and added a pond with a turtle statue in the center. The fourth phase starts from 1938 until the liberation from Japan and is the period when Deoksugung Palace became a park. Yi Royal-Family Museum was built and linked to Seokjojeon Hall with a bridge and the garden transformed into a sunken garden. The garden adopted a fountain and a pagora. Despite the minor changes in the after years the garden still posses most of its form from the fourth phase. As we can see the current garden of Seokjojeon Hall is not the same as the initial garden and therefor the importance of this study lies in the fact that modifications to the statements regarding to Seokjojeon Hall garden should be made.

• (The)Study of the Eastern Classic
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• no.67
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• pp.379-418
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• 2017

Weoldae -which we can find inside Joseon palaces- is usually erected in front of important structures including the Main Hall(Jeongjeon, 正殿). There is no clear definition of its nature that we can find in official law codes or dynastic ritual manuals, and such records do not specify what kind of rules should be observed in creating them either. In illustrations of palaces such as and , Weoldae can be seen at structures such as the Main "Jeongjeon" Hall(正殿), Royal office(Pyeonjeon, 便殿), Royal Quarters(Jeongchim, 正寢), Queen's bedroom(Chimjeon, 寢殿), Quarters of the Crown Prince(Dong'gung, 東宮), and other structures. All these structures equipped with a Weoldae were related to special figures inside the royal family such as the king, the queen, the crown prince, and the crown-prince' son. These figures were literally above the law, and as such their treatment could not be defined by law. And these spaces were where they worked or rested while they lived, and where their posthumous tablets(Shinju, 神主) or portraits(Eojin, 御眞) were enshrined after they died. (When such spaces were used for latter purposes, they were designated either as 'Honjeon[魂殿, chamber of the tablet]' or 'Jinjeon[眞殿, hall of portrait']). Joseon was a Confucian dynasty with a strict social stratification system, and the palace structures reflected such atmosphere as well. We can see that structures described with Weoldae in and were structures which were more important than others that did not have a Weoldae. Among structures with Weoldae, the place which hosted most of the dynastic rituals was the Main Hall. In this Main Hall, the King swore an oath himself, passed the incense(香) himself during memorial services, and observed honoring ceremonies[Manbae-rye(望拜禮)] at the "Hwangdan"(皇壇) altar which was built to commemorate the three Ming Emperors. The so-called "Two Palaces[兩闕]" of Joseon shared a unique relationship in terms of their own Weoldae units and the rituals that were held there. In the early half of the Joseon dynasty period, Gyeongbok-gung(景福宮) and Dong'gweol(東闕) constituted the "Two palaces," but after the war with the Japanese in the 1590s during which the Gyeongbok-gung palace was incinerated, Dong'gweol and Seogweol(西闕) came to newly form the "Two palaces" instead. Meanwhile, Changdeok-gung(昌德宮) became the main palace[法宮], replacing the previous one which had been Gyeongbok-gung. In general, when a king moved to another palace, the ancestral tablets in the Honjeon chamber or the portrait in the Jinjeon hall would accompany him as well. Their presence would be established within the new palace. But king Yeongjo was an exception from that practice. Even after he moved to the Gyeong'hi-gung(慶熙宮) palace, he continued to pay visit to the Jinjeon Hall at Changdeok-gung. While he was positioned inside Gyeong'hi-gung, he did not manage the palace with Gyeonghi-gung as its sole center. He tried to manage other palaces like Changdeok-gung and Chang'gyeong-gung(昌慶宮) as well, and as organically as possible.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Traditional Landscape Architecture
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.1-13
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• 2022

This paper examined the history and development of Gyeongbokgung Palace's back garden based on historical materials and drawings such as Joseon Ilgi(Diaries of Joseon Dynasty), Joseon Wangjo Sillok(the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty), Doseongdaejido(the Great Map of Seoul), Bukgwoldohyeong(Drawing Plan of the Northern Palace), the Bukgung Palace Restoration Plan, Restoration Planning of Gyeongbokgung Palace and the following results were derived. First, it was confirmed that the Back Garden of Gyeongbokgung Palace was famous for its great location since the Goryeo Dynasty, and that it was named Namkyeong at that time and was a place where a shrine was built, and that castles and palaces were already built during the Goryeo Dynasty under the influence of Fengshui-Docham(風水圖讖) and Zhouli·Kaogongji(周禮考工記). Although the back garden of Gyeongbokgung Palace in the early Joseon Dynasty stayed out of the limelight as a back garden for the palace, it has a place value as a living space for the head of the state from King Gojong to the present. Second, in order to clearly identify the boundaries of back garden, through literature such as map of Doseongdo (Map of the Capital), La Coree, Gyeongmudae Area, Japanese Geography Custom Compendium, Korean Photo Album, JoseonGeonchukdoJip(The Illustration Book of Joseon Construction), Urban Planning Survey of Gyeongseong, it was confirmed that the current Blue House area outside Sinmumun Gate was built outside the precincts of Gyeongbokgung Palace. It was found that the area devastated through the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592, was used as a space where public corporations were combined through the process of reconstruction during the King Gojong period. In Japanese colonial era, the place value as a back garden of the primary palace was damaged, as the palace buildings of the back garden was relocated or destroyed, but after liberation, it was used as the presidential residence and restored the place value of the ruler. Third, in the back garden of Gyeongbokgung Palace, spatial changes proceeded through the Japanese Invasion and Japanese colonial era. The place with the greatest geographical change was Gyeongnongjae area, where the residence of the Japanese Government-General of Korea was built, and there were frequent changes in the use of the land. On the other hand, the current Gyeongmudae area, the forests next to the small garden, and the forests of Baekak were preserved in the form of traditional forests. To clarify this, 1:1200 floor plan of inner Gyeongmudae residence and satellite images were overlapped based on Sinmumun Gate, and as a result, it was confirmed that the water path originating from Baekak still exists today and the forest area did not change. Fourth, in the areas where the traditional forest landscape was inherited, the functional changes in the topography were little, and major old-age colonies are maintained. The old trees identified in this area were indicator tree species with historical value. Representatively, Pinus densiflora for. multicaulis Uyeki, located in Nokjiwon Garden, is presumed to have been preserved as one of Pinus densiflora for. multicaulis Uyeki planted next to Yongmundang, and has a historicality that has been used as a photo zone at dinners for heads of state and important guests. Lastly, in order to continuously preserve and manage the value of Gyeongbokgung Palace in Blue House, it is urgent to clarify the space value through excavation of historical materials in Japanese colonial era and establish a hierarchy of garden archaeology by era. In addition, the basis for preserving the historical landscape from the Joseon Dynasty to the modern era from Gyeongbokgung Palace should not damage the area of the old giant trees, which has been perpetuated since the past, and a follow-up study is needed to investigate all the forests in Blue House.