Junghwajeon Hall and Junghwamun Gate of Deoksugung Palace

Junghwajeon Hall is the central building of Deoksugung Palace, where the king received congratulatory greetings and held state ceremonies, and Junghwamun Gate is its main gate. Both were built in 1902, the sixth year of the Gwangmu era, but burned down in 1904; the buildings standing today were rebuilt in 1906. Junghwajeon Hall measures five bays across the front and four bays to the side, with a hipped-and-gabled roof that forms a shape like the character for "eight" (八) when seen from the side. It is built in the dapo style, in which decorative bracket clusters supporting the eaves are placed both above the columns and between them. The bracket members projecting outward are slender and appear somewhat delicate, with pronounced curves, a feature typical of late Joseon craftsmanship. Inside, an elaborate canopy is suspended over the king's seat to lend it greater dignity. Junghwamun Gate measures three bays across the front and two bays to the side, with a hipped-and-gabled roof, and follows the same late Joseon dapo bracket style as Junghwajeon Hall. Corridor buildings originally flanked the gate on both sides, but only a few traces now remain, to its east. The complex is an important source for the study of palace architecture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

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Where it is

Region

Jung-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물