Restoration of Deoksugung Heungdeokjeon Gains Momentum... Scale and Location of Entrance Doors Identified

Drainage Channel Discovered in Front of Heumsamun

The restoration and maintenance work of Heungdeokjeon Hall at Deoksugung Palace is gaining momentum. The scale and location of the entrance gates, Heumsamun and Soanmun, as well as the surrounding corridors and Eojaesil, have been confirmed.

On the afternoon of the 3rd, the Cultural Heritage Administration's Palace and Royal Tombs Division revealed the results of the excavation conducted over the past three months at the Heungdeokjeon area excavation site. Heungdeokjeon, estimated to have been built in 1900, was the Iancheong (a space temporarily housing the royal portrait and ancestral tablets) used to restore the royal portrait (a painting of the king's face) lost in the fire at Seonwonjeon. It was also used as a Binjeon (a place where the king's and queen's coffins were kept until the funeral procession) during the deaths of Queen Hyojeong (the consort of King Heonjong) and Queen Sunmyeonghyo (the consort of Emperor Sunjong) in 1904, and Queen Sunheon Hwanghu (the mother of Crown Prince Yi Un) in 1911. However, it was dismantled in 1919 after Emperor Gojong's death and its materials were used for corridor construction at Changdeokgung Palace.

The Palace and Royal Tombs Division established a basic restoration and maintenance plan in 2015 and began refurbishing the Heungdeokjeon area. Excavations were conducted three times, and based on the detailed design, restoration and maintenance work has been underway since November 2022. This recent excavation was conducted in the area where drainage remains were discovered. The most notable achievement is the drainage system presumed to have been formed along the boundary between the Heungdeokjeon area and the road. It was found in front of Heumsamun and was well preserved in its original form.

The Palace and Royal Tombs Division plans to restore the drainage system using existing materials. Additionally, based on photographs and historical records, they aim to restore and maintain the Seonwonjeon area of Deoksugung Palace by 2039. An official stated, "We will enhance the historical and cultural value of Deoksugung, which was the main stage of political diplomacy during the Korean Empire period and where tradition and modernity coexist."