Changdeokgung

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  • Phone
    762 8262
  • Transport
    underground rail: Line 3 to Anguk station, exit 3
  • Tours with English-speaking guides: Tues-Sun 11:30 , 13:00 and 15:30 ; Korean-language tours: 09:15 - 17:15 , every half-an-hour; tours take 90 minutes

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Lonely Planet review

You cannot look around this World Heritage palace on your own, so you must join an English-speaking guide. The buildings follow Confucian principles of simplicity and harmony with nature. Like all Joseon palaces, it has a mountain behind it and a small stream in front - good feng shui.

Originally constructed between 1405 and 1412, the palace was Korea's centre of power from 1618 to 1896. Seoul's oldest stone bridge (built in 1411) is there along with a throne hall, a blue-tiled royal office, and Naksonjae (originally built by King Honjong for one of his concubines), which was home to descendants of the royal family until 1989. Cadillac and Daimler cars, used by the last Joseon king, Sunjong, are on display. But the highlight is the wonderful Biwon (Secret Garden), where the library, poem-writing pavilions, square lily ponds and park-like setting create a perfectly tranquil rural atmosphere.