Restoration Site of Yeonghundang Area at Gyeongbokgung Palace to Open to the Public

Deoksugung Heungdeokjeon Area Also Open
on the Last Wednesday of Every Month

The Royal Palaces and Tombs Center of the Cultural Heritage Administration announced on April 28 that it will open the restoration sites of the Yeonghundang area at Gyeongbokgung Palace and the Heungdeokjeon area at Deoksugung Palace to the public eight times from April 30 to November 26.

South View of the Restoration Site of Yeonghundang Area at Gyeongbokgung Palace

Yeonghundang is a pavilion located near Hamhwadang and Jipgyeongdang at Gyeongbokgung Palace. It is believed to have served as a storage area for managing goods within the palace. It was constructed during King Gojong's reconstruction of Gyeongbokgung Palace but was demolished during the Japanese colonial period. The lost history and traces of the site have recently been confirmed through old documents and maps, including the "Hajae Ilgi."

Heungdeokjeon was a pavilion at Deoksugung Palace where portraits of kings, which had been lost in a fire at Seonwonjeon Hall, were restored. It also served as a temporary storage and copying office (Iancheong), where royal portraits and ancestral tablets were temporarily kept and replicated. It was used as a Binjeon (a hall where the coffin of a king or queen was kept until the funeral procession) during the passing of Queen Hyojeong (second consort of King Hyeonjong), Empress Sunmyeonghyo (consort of Emperor Sunjong), and Imperial Noble Consort Sunheon (concubine of King Gojong and biological mother of Prince Yeongchin). In 1919, after King Gojong's death, the building was dismantled and its materials were used for construction at Changdeokgung Palace. Restoration work is currently underway.

The Royal Palaces and Tombs Center will open the sites to the public at 3:00 p.m. on the last Wednesday of each month. For safety reasons, the number of participants is limited to twenty per session. An official stated, "This is an opportunity to learn about the historical value of the royal palaces while receiving detailed explanations from national heritage restoration technicians."