Monday, September 5, 2011

Hwaseong Haenggung Nightscape

The 5th WSK Camp (2)

As a result of coming late to the camp, I wasn't able to see the Hwaseong Fortress but at least I could visit the palace inside Hwaseong Fortress. The tour is a night-tour. Again, because I forgot to bring my camera, the pictures quality are not so good.

The palace is a temporary palace where the king took rest in a long journey. 


It was also the place when King Jeongjo celebrate the 60th birthday of his mother, Hyegyeonghung Hong. It was a very big celebration at that time. Birthday tteok was served in a very large quantity for the feast.



Even though we visited this palace at night, the beauty of this palace was still can be seen. The palace is the biggest and most beautiful among the temporary palaces in Suwon.

The palace was destroyed in Japanese imperialism, but was restored by the Restoration Promotion Committee. The restoration construction was started in 1996 and was opened to public in 2008.

I found that many important places in South Korea were ruined or burnt during the colonialism of Japan. It is so pity to know that those valuable heritage were destroyed.

I have to give thumbs up to the South Korean government and citizen's effort to restore, re-construct and preserve their heritage. I realize that it is not an easy task to do. You need to do elaborate research and collecting funds for the project. It could not be done without the support from government and the people.  


In a corner of the palace, there was a rice chest with a story board next to it. I spent time to read the English version and found the sad story about the rice chest.

King Jeongjo's father, the Crown Prince Sado, when he was 27 years old, the father (King Jeongjo's grandfather) saw that he didn't fit to be a king, so he locked him in the rice chest, starving until he died. I didn't dare to imagine the sad scene. The rice chest is small for an adult size. I left the corner without taking any pictures there.


See the detail of the building! I love it. I love how the colors match each other, the ornament, the details...
This picture was taken from my cell phone. Quite nice, heh!

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