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    Joseon's Royal Heritage: 500 Years of Splendor
    Joseon's Royal Heritage: 500 Years of Splendor
    Joseon's Royal Heritage: 500 Years of Splendor
    Ebook171 pages1 hour

    Joseon's Royal Heritage: 500 Years of Splendor

    By Robert Koehler

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    The Joseon dynasty ruled Korea for over half a millennium, bequeathing to Korea a considerable cultural heritage. This book will examine three of the better-known areas of Joseon cultural heritage: royal palaces, royal tombs, and the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty. Standing in the heart of Seoul, the five royal palaces are more than just buildings; they are architectural expressions of Joseon society and its ruling philosophy. The royal tombs—forty final resting places of Joseon kings and queens—are unique in their completeness. Finally, the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty are unequalled in their richness as a source of historical and cultural information about Korean history. Each of these treasures, deeply imbued with Joseon's Confucian culture, reveals unique aspects about the kingdom and its legacy.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSeoul Selection
    Release dateJul 30, 2015
    ISBN9781624120411
    Joseon's Royal Heritage: 500 Years of Splendor

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      Joseon's Royal Heritage - Robert Koehler

      University

      Over the course of Korea’s 5,000-year history, the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) has stood at the forefront of Korean culture, especially in terms of the brilliance of its royal culture. Indeed, the royal palaces of this era are among the country’s most cherished national treasures and cultural relics.

      A palace is the king’s home. But the palace concept, as seen from the historical documents of the Joseon Dynasty, is much broader; it includes the places where the king resided, where he lived before he became king, and where he stayed while traveling the country, and even the shrine built for royal ancestors. There are five official Joseon palaces where the king resided and conducted formal business: Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Gyeonghuigung, and Deoksugung (or Gyeongungung). But it was only for about a single decade that all five of these palaces existed at the same time.

      Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, and Changgyeonggung (an annex to Changdeokgung) served as the primary palaces prior to the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1952, while Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, and Gyeonghuigung became the main palaces thereafter. Deoksugung was not really a Joseon palace, but an expansion built in preparation for the proclamation of the Deahan Empire in 1897.

      Although several Joseon Dynasty palaces remain intact, Gyeongbokgung is especially noteworthy. Originally built in 1395, it served as the first and primary palace of the Joseon Dynasty. The main gate faced the Yukjogeori (Six Ministry Avenue, today’s Sejong-ro), while to the rear of the palace stood Mt. Bugaksan and Mt. Inwangsan, making it an ideal site in terms of feng shui (pungsu in Korean) principles as well as its picturesque natural scenery. As the primary palace of the Joseon Dynasty, it stood as the foremost symbol of Joseon royal authority, while the name of each building reflects the founding spirit of the dynasty.

      Gwanghwamun Gate, the front entrance to Gyeongbokgung Palace and a major Seoul landmark

      Gyeongbokgung Palace seen from above

      FOUNDATION OF THE JOSEON DYNASTY

      After 475 years of history, the final curtain fell on the Goryeo Dynasty in the summer of 1392 with the founding of Joseon. The new dynasty was founded through an alliance between newly emerged literati, who adhered to Neo-Confucianism, and the military officer Yi Seong-gye. Among the decisions that needed to be made by the new leadership, Yi Seong-gye first sought to leave the Goryeo capital of Gaegyeong (today’s Gaeseong in North Korea) and find a new site for the capital. With the help of some of the finest feng shui experts in the land—including his friend and close advisor, the Buddhist monk Muhak—he set about finding a suitable location for the new city.

      Many were opposed to the idea of relocating the capital, however. Even those who had played leading roles in founding the new nation did not approve of selecting a new capital, and the controversy lingered for about two years. In the end, the site selected for the capital of Joseon was Hanyang, which had been built as Goryeo’s southern capital in the early 12th century. Known today as Seoul, Hanyang was situated on the north bank of the Hangang River, in a basin ringed by mountains. With a river flowing east-west to the south and mountains surrounding it to the north, the location was ideal in feng shui terms.

      Hanseongjeondo, a map of Seoul produced in the late 18th century

      After deciding to relocate the capital, Yi Seong-gye hastened to make the move even before the requisite facilities could be built in Hanyang. The royal palace of Gyeongbokgung, the royal ancestral shrine of Jongmyo, and the national altar of Sajik were completed in 1395, about one year after the capital’s move, while other facilities were built in subsequent years. Due to this hasty relocation and construction of facilities, the general appearance of Hanyang (or Hanseong, as it was renamed the following year) came to resemble that of the Goryeo capital of Gaegyeong. The Gyeongbokgung site was situated at almost the same location as Goryeo’s southern capital, in front of Mt. Bugaksan: Gyeongbokgung was simply built a little farther south.

      Traditionally, when the Korean dynasties of Goryeo and Joseon selected a capital site, geographical features such as the surrounding mountains were of the utmost importance. Sites were selected in which the mountains formed axes of the capital area, such that the city wall was built to take advantage of the natural topography. Because of this, most Korean cities are not as symmetrical in layout as those of China or Japan, where ancient fortress towns were built along a grid pattern. In those countries, it was typical for palaces to be located in the center of the city or slightly northward. In contrast, Joseon’s primary palace of Gyeongbokgung was situated in the western section of an irregularly shaped city at the base of Mt. Bugaksan. This outcome was the product of feng shui, a system of geomancy principles for identifying auspicious sites. In contrast with other Joseon palaces, however, Gyeongbokgung was built on flat terrain that enabled an orderly building layout within the grounds.

      TAEJO, THE FIRST KING OF JOSEON

      The founder of the Joseon Dynasty was born in 1335 as Yi Seong-gye in Hamheung, a coastal city in what is now North Korea. Yi, the son of a minor official, joined the army and went on to become a general, gaining a reputation as a capable military commander. As the Goryeo Dynasty neared its end, the kingdom was beset with raids and invasions by Japanese pirates and the Chinese Red Turbans. Yi and fellow general Choe Yeong proved effective in beating back these attacks, and their power and influence grew.

      In 1368, the Ming finally overthrew the Mongol-dominated Yuan Dynasty in China. In 1388, the Ming demanded that Goguryeo transfer to China large parts of northern Korea; in retaliation, King U of Goryeo set in motion an invasion of parts of Manchuria claimed by his kingdom. Put in command of the invasion force, Yi marched his forces north. Just before crossing the border, however, Yi rebelled, leading his troops south to seize the royal capital of Gaeseong. After placing several puppet kings on the throne, Yi finally took the throne for himself in 1392, adopting the royal name King Taejo and bringing the Goryeo Dynasty to a close.

      Allying himself with Confucian reformers like Jeong Do-jeon who wished to transform the kingdom along Confucian lines, Taejo and his court set about turning the new Joseon Dynasty into a model Confucian state, led by a king and a court composed of Confucian scholar-officials. He established a new capital where the new dynasty could develop free from the trappings of the old regime. Although Taejo reigned for only six years, the dynasty he founded lasted over five centuries.

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