Deoksugung (), also called Deoksu Palace or Deoksugung Palace, is a former royal palace in Seoul, South Korea. It was the main palace during the Korean Empire (1897–1910) and is now a major tourist attraction. It has a mix of traditional Korean and Western architecture that reflects its history. Inside the palace are the Daehan Empire History Museum and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Deoksugung branch.
The palace was first used as a temporary palace by King Seonjo during the 1592–1598 Imjin War, when the other palaces had been destroyed. In 1611, it was made an official palace named Gyeongungung (it was renamed "Deoksugung" in 1907). The palace then went largely unused until the late 19th century.
In 1897, Gojong declared the creation of the Korean Empire and made Gyeongungung the empire's main palace. He attempted to make the palace a symbol of Korea's efforts to modernize. He rapidly expanded it by acquiring land from nearby properties and constructing new buildings in both Korean and Western styles. Under his tenure, the palace's major buildings Junghwajeon and Seokjojeon were constructed. Despite his efforts to keep Korea independent, he was forced to abdicate in 1907 and Korea was colonized by Japan in 1910. He lived in the palace until his death in 1919.
After Gojong's death, the colonial government moved quickly to sell off and dismantle the palace's property. By 1930, 18 of the original buildings were left. In 1933, the palace was made a public park. In 1938, a West Wing was constructed for Seokjojeon, and together the two buildings became the . After these efforts to open the palace to the public, just 8 of the original buildings remained.
Even for decades after the 1945 liberation of Korea, the palace continued to function as a public park, with some public works projects further altering or decreasing the size of the palace. One scholar estimated the palace's current size to be 1/3rd of its peak size. Efforts to restore its pre-colonial appearance began in the 1980s. In 2004, a comprehensive plan to restore aspects of the palace was enacted. As part of this plan, a number of buildings and structures have been recreated or moved back to their original pre-colonial spots based on historical research.
History
Joseon period The site the palace now occupies once contained the tomb of Queen Sindeok, the second wife of the Joseon founding king Taejo (). During the reign of Taejong (), the tomb was moved elsewhere. Grand Prince Wolsan, the elder brother of King Seongjong, constructed his residence in the area. In the early stages of the 1592–1598 Imjin War, King Seonjo fled Seoul. In his absence, the palaces in the city were destroyed by fire. Upon his return to Seoul in 1593, he stayed in the area, which was dubbed the Jeongneung-dong Haenggung (). He would eventually die there.
King Gwanghaegun then ascended the throne at the palace. In 1611, Changdeokgung was adequately repaired, and Gwanghaegun moved over to that palace. He then upgraded Haenggung to a full palace and selected a new name for it: Gyeongungung (). He ordered that Gyeongungung's facilities be maintained so that they could be used as a secondary palace. Several months later, he moved back to Gyeongungung. While repairing other palaces, he ordered that several of Gyeongungung's structures be disassembled and their materials used in other palaces. In 1618, Seonjo's former wife Queen Inmok was forcefully confined in the palace. In 1623, King Injo ordered that all buildings except for two in Gyeongungung be returned to their original owners.
For much of the later Joseon period, Gyeongungung was considered to have lesser facilities, and thus went largely unused by the Korean royal family. It was renovated in 1679 and visited four times by King Yeongjo between 1748 and 1775. An article in the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture argues it was otherwise disregarded to the extent of not appearing on a number of late Joseon maps. After 1884 failed Gapsin Coup, various foreign missions were granted permission to be established around Gyeongungung. To its west was the and . To its north is the Embassy of the United Kingdom. In 1893, the Korean monarch Gojong held a ceremony at Gyeongungung for the 300th anniversary of Seonjo returning to Seoul. Historian An Chang-mo () argues that the palace held symbolism to Gojong as a place where the monarch stayed during a foreign invasion crisis.
Korean Empire period
After the 1895 assassination of the Korean Queen Min, the Korean monarch Gojong fled for safety in the Russian legation in early 1896. Rather than return to Gyeongbokgung, where Min had been assassinated, Gojong chose to make Gyeongungung his residence for its proximity to the legations, which he believed could help protect him from Japan. At the time, the palace only had a small number of buildings. Around a week after his arrival in the legation, he began ordering the renovation and expansion of Gyeongungung. The first round of renovations were completed on September 28, 1896. They then held a state funeral for Min, whom was posthumously dubbed Empress Myeongseong, wherein her remains were transferred from Gyeongbokgung to Gyeongungung. On February 20, 1897, Gojong left the Russian legation and moved into Gyeongungung. That year, he ordered road infrastructure around the palace be significantly reconstructed. After crowning himself emperor at a ceremony at the nearby Hwangudan, on October 13, 1897, he officially proclaimed the Korean Empire.
Gojong attempted to make the palace a symbol of Korea's modernization efforts. The palace grounds were expanded in three directions: north, west, and south. To the east was a major road and dense city. The palace, unlike the previous main palaces in Seoul, was built and grew under the restrictions of being within a well-established city. Land was purchased from various groups, but this was not always possible or easily done, especially when foreign land owners and consulates were involved. Nearby buildings had height restrictions issued, in order to prevent them from looking over into the palace.
On April 14, 1904, a major fire started in Hamnyeongjeon. While Hamnyeongjeon was Gojong's sleeping quarters, at the time he was at Gwanmyeongjeon while Hamnyeongjeon was undergoing repairs. The fire destroyed most of the buildings, including Jungmyeongjeon, Seogeodang, and Jeokjodang, which had dated to the time of Seonjo. A number of buildings on the north, northeast, and east side of the palace were spared from the fire. Numerous valuables were destroyed, with only some rescued. Most of Gojong's ministers and the Japanese minister advised Gojong to return to Gyeongbokgung, but Gojong refused. Restoration work began the following day. Repair costs were enormous and exceeded the total annual budget of the Korean Empire. By 1905, the buildings Jeukjodang, Seogeodang, Gyeonghyojeon, Jungmyeongjeon, Heummungak, and Hamnyeongjeon were rebuilt. A number of these were built smaller than their original form. The gates Junghwamun and Jowunmun were also completed in that year. In 1906, the main building Junghwajeon and the main gate Daeanmun were both completed.In 1907, Gojong was made to abdicate in favor of his son, Sunjong. In August 1907, Sunjong's coronation ceremony was a relatively simple affair held at Dondeokjeon. Afterwards, Sunjong used Changdeokgung as his primary palace, possibly at the behest of the Japanese, who wished to isolate him from Gojong. That year, Gyeongungung was renamed Deoksugung. Gojong continued to live there in the building Hamnyeongjeon. In 1910, the building Seokjojeon was completed.
Colonial period
In May 1912, the adjacent road Taepyeongno was made to cut straight through the eastern side of the palace. The gate Podeokmun, its adjacent buildings, and the large plaza in front of Daehanmun were demolished. The palace's eastern wall was pushed inwards. Numerous former guest houses for the palace became separate from the palace; these extended into what is today Seoul Plaza.
The death of Gojong in 1919 was a significant turning point for the palace. The palace was managed by the Office of the Yi Dynasty, although the royal family ceased using the palace significantly. The Government-General of Chōsen began downsizing, dismantling, and selling off portions of the palace. The Seonwonjeon area, in the northwest of the palace, was the first to be dismantled and sold off; two schools were built in its place by 1923. By 1930, there were 18 of the original palace buildings left.
In May 1931, the Office of the Yi Dynasty announced that of Deoksugung would be turned into a public park called "Central Park" (). After around a year of construction work, it was opened to the public on October 1, 1933. Ten buildings were removed from the palace. The remaining former guest houses that were separated from the palace during Taepyeongno's expansion were demolished in 1933. Plans were created for a swimming pool in place of Dondeokjeon, which could be used as a skating rink during the winter. The plan was deemed too offensive to the legacy of the palace, and was scrapped. Alterations to the palace during this process were among the most significant in the palace's history. A water feature was moved from another palace Changdeokgung to the garden in front of Seokjojeon. The gardens of the palace were significantly renovated; only a few trees and decorative elements have persisted until the present. Numerous peonies were planted in the park. These became a popular attraction during the colonial period and even after the liberation. They were replaced in 1985 with pine trees and azaleas after it was determined they were a product of the colonial period.
In 1933, Seokjojeon was converted into the Seokjojeon Art Museum. From 1936 to 1938, a three-story West Wing building for Seokjojeon was constructed. Together, these buildings became the .
After the aforementioned projects, just eight of the original buildings were left.
Post-liberation Soon after the 1945 liberation of Korea, the Yi Royal Family Art Museum renamed itself to the Deoksugung Art Museum. In March 1946, the United States Army Military Government in Korea seized Seokjojeon and designated it as the offices of the . They held a major meeting there on the issue of Korean reunification on March 20, 1946. The returning Korean Provisional Government used the building for a number of its meetings. The joint commission was dissolved in October 1947.
During the 1950–1953 Korean War, the palace was largely spared from war damage, although Seokjojeon's interior was destroyed by fire. During the Second Battle of Seoul, North Korean soldiers amassed in the palace. U.S. lieutenant James Hamilton Dill persuaded his superiors not to shell the palace because of the palace's cultural heritage. In 1996, after this story came to the attention of the South Korean government, he was awarded a plaque of gratitude.
In 1961, a project to expand the nearby road Taepyeongno affected the palace. The palace walls were torn down and replaced with a see-through fence. In 1968, the walls were further pushed back during another road expansion program. Daehanmun was initially not pushed back along with the wall, and stuck out into the road. From August 1970 to January 1971, the gate was moved west into the wall, to its current location.
Beginning in the 1980s, efforts began to be made to restore the palace to its pre-colonial state. In 2004, a plan for this, entitled the Deoksugung Restoration and Maintenance Basic Plan (), was drafted. As part of these efforts, Jungmyeongjeon was restored in 2009, Seokjojeon was restored in 2014, and Gwangmyeongmun was moved back to its original location in 2018.
An Chang-mo argues that the current Deoksugung is around a third the size of its peak size. Current landmarks
East section
Daehanmun