Injeongjeon Hall of Changdeokgung Palace

Injeongjeon is the main hall of Changdeokgung Palace. Injeong means 'benevolent government', and the hall is Changdeokgung's hall of state, the building for official occasions of state: coronations, royal weddings, the investiture of crown princes and the congratulatory audiences of officials. Rebuilt under King Gwanghaegun, it was rebuilt again after a fire in 1803, the third year of King Sunjo, and repaired in 1857, the eighth year of King Cheoljong, and so it has come down to the present. The broad courtyard is called the jojeong, the court where audiences were held. The rank stones lined up either side of the triple path mark the places of civil and military officials, each carved with the eighteen grades. From the senior fourth rank down, the junior grades were combined, so they run from senior first to senior ninth rank, twelve on each side, east and west. They were set up under King Jeongjo, when the order of rank at court was said to have fallen into disarray; those of the third rank and above were dangsanggwan and those below danghagwan. By the rank stones civil officials stood on the east and military officials on the west, facing the centre; the civil officials on the east were called the eastern file and the military on the west the western file, and together they made the yangban, Joseon's upper class. The officials did not face the king but stood in columns facing each other, civil facing military; when the command to bow was given, they bowed holding their tablets, standing, to one another — the gokbae, the turned bow. Inside, the king's throne stands at the front, with a carved wooden screen behind it and behind that a screen of the sun, moon and five peaks. The sun and moon stand for yin and yang, and thus for king and queen; the five peaks below are the five mountains of east, west, south, north and centre, standing for the land. Together they express the king ruling the four quarters from the centre and governing by the principles of yin and yang. Around them are Western fittings — glass windows, light bulbs and curtains — that came in with the many foreign things after Korea opened relations with other countries at the end of the dynasty. After Emperor Sunjong moved from Deoksugung to Changdeokgung in 1907, the floor was changed from brick to boards and electric lights installed. The first of the five palaces to have electricity was Gyeongbokgung, in 1887.

AI Translation

Visiting

Opening hours

February-May 09:00-18:00 June-August 09:00-18:30 September-October 09:00-18:00 November-January 09:00-17:30 * Last admission 1 hour before closing.

Closed

Mondays (If Monday lands on a public holiday, the following day will also be closed)

Admission

Adults 3,000 won / Children 1,500 won <br> Groups of 10 or more: Adults 2,400 won / Children 1,200 won<br> <br> * Adults (ages 19-64) / Children (ages 7-18) * Free admission: Preschoolers (ages 6 and under), senior citizens (ages 65 and older), visitors wearing hanbok, last Wednesday of each month (Culture Day)

Information

• 1330 Travel Hotline: +82-2-1330 <br> (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese) <br> • For more info: +82-2-3668-2300

Visitor information: Korea Tourism Organization · KOGL Type 1

Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

National Treasure · 국보