Changdeokgung () is a former royal palace in Seoul, South Korea. A UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Historic Site of South Korea, it is among the best preserved of all Korean palaces. It and its neighboring palace Changgyeonggung have together been called the "East Palace".
Changdeokgung was established in 1405. It was the second palace to be established in Seoul, after Joseon's official main palace Gyeongbokgung. Despite Gyeongbokgung's legally superior status, a majority of kings preferred to reside in Changdeokgung instead. In 1592, amidst the Imjin War, Changdeokgung and all the other palaces in the city were completely destroyed. After the war, due to budgetary constraints, Gyeongbokgung was not repaired, while Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung were. This effectively made Changdeokgung Joseon's main palace for several centuries.
In the late 19th century, under the reign of the penultimate Korean monarch Gojong, Gyeongbokgung was rebuilt and the royal family moved out of Changdeokgung and into Gyeongbokgung, although they would again move to another palace Deoksugung in 1897. In 1907, Gojong was forced by Japan to abdicate, and his son and final Korean monarch Sunjong ascended the throne and made Changdeokgung his official palace. In 1910, Japan colonized Korea, and proceeded to heavily alter the palace. The Korean royal family continued to reside in the palace even after the 1945 liberation of Korea and into the late 20th century.
Changdeokgung is now a major tourist attraction. In 1997, it was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The palace's , long beloved by Korean monarchs, are now mostly available to the public, with some sections requiring tours to be booked.
Name "Changdeokgung" means "Palace of Prospering Virtue". The palace received this name on the 25th day, 10th month of 1404, shortly after the first phase of its construction was completed.
Changdeokgung and its neighboring palace Changgyeonggung are together known as the "Eastern Palace" (), as they are located to the east of the city's main palace Gyeongbokgung.
History
Establishment
In 1392 (Korean calendar), Joseon was established. Afterwards, the state's capital Hanyang (also called Hanseong and later called Seoul) was established and Gyeongbokgung was made its main palace (). Due to political turmoil, the capital was temporarily moved to Kaesong and then back to Hanyang in 1404. King Taejong () then ordered the establishment of Changdeokgung as a secondary palace (). His possible motivations for this order have been analyzed. A number of scholars have argued Taejong wanted to avoid Gyeongbokgung because he associated it with unpleasant memories of familial deaths there and thought it had inauspicious feng shui qualities. Historians Lee et al. have also argued that he wanted a secondary palace to be freer from the political influences of government offices and politicians in and around Gyeongbokgung.
A temporary office was established to manage the creation of the palace. Changdeokgung's location was finalized on the 6th day, 10th month of 1404, and construction began that day. Under the supervision of , numerous artisans, soldiers, monks, and commoners worked on the construction. The first phase of construction was completed on the 19th day, 10th month of 1405. Taejong entered the palace on the 20th day of that month and held a celebration banquet there. At the time, there were only several complete buildings in the palace, including the royal bedchambers and bathhouse. The palace then had either a total of 287 rooms () or 192 rooms. There was likely not much space for government offices in the palace for government offices at the time; offices in and around Gyeongbokgung were repaired and officials likely went back and forth between those and Changdeokgung. Meanwhile, construction continued. In 1406, the shrine Insojeon () and a Buddhist shrine were completed in the rear garden area, along with the pavilion Gwangyeollu (); in 1408, a pond was dug; and in 1411, a pavilion was completed. In 1408, the former king Taejo died at Changdeokgung.
Before the Imjin War For the rest of his reign, Taejong primarily resided in Changdeokgung. Gyeongbokgung's restoration was ordered only after Taejong had moved into Changdeokgung. Even after his abdication, he resided in the palace Suganggung (; later became Changgyeonggung) next to Changdeokgung; from there he influenced the reign of his son Sejong the Great (). Even after Taejong's abdication, construction continued. Part of a building collapsed and the supervisor of that building's construction was exiled as punishment. By 1418, facilities were deemed adequate enough to hold more significant ceremonies at Changdeokgung instead of at Gyeongbokgung. From the third year of Sejong's reign, Sejong began putting more emphasis on Gyeongbokgung and moved frequently between the two palaces. In 1426, he ordered that many structures in Changdeokgung be named. In 1427, he entirely moved out of Changdeokgung and resided primarily in Gyeongbokgung, although he continued moving between the two frequently. King Sejo () significantly expanded Changdeokgung to the north and east. For one such project, 19,000 people from the Hanyang region were assembled. King Seongjo () also expanded the palace and resided in Changdeokgung for the entirety of his reign. In 1475, he had all 29 of the palace's gates named and held a ceremony for the installation of their name plaques. As there was not enough space in Changdeokgung for all the living queens in the royal family, he decided to expand Changgyeonggung for them instead. King Yeonsangun () also greatly renovated the palace, although renovations were put to a halt when he was deposed.
Destruction and reconstruction In 1592, during the 1592–1598 Imjin War, all the city's palaces were completely burned down. It is debated who burned down the palaces, as surviving contemporary records are from intellectuals who did not witness the burnings. Various contemporary Korean texts, including the , report hearsay that it was Korean commoners who burned down the palace to destroy palace records. When the Japanese invaders entered the city on the 2nd day, 5th month of that year, Gyeongbokgung was still intact. Japanese discipline in the city was reportedly initially high, but when they began suffering defeats, they took their frustrations out on the city and locals, burning buildings and killing.
After the war, efforts began to repair the city's palaces. Initially, plans were drawn up to have Gyeongbokgung repaired, but these were not acted upon. There is a record of arguments against Gyeongbokgung's reconstruction because of perceived inauspicious qualities of that palace. In addition, Joseon's economy had been devastated by the war, and funding for repairing Gyeongbokgung was likely difficult to procure. Changdeokgung was restored instead; a number of buildings were recreated in their original locations. The first round of restorations was completed during the reign of King Gwanghaegun () on the 1st day, 9th month of 1610. However, Gwanghaegun expressed little interest in Changdeokgung, and continued to reside in the temporary palace Gyeongungung (later became Deoksugung). In 1617, he had the palaces and established.
In 1623, during the Injo coup that installed King Injo (), rebels burned down almost all the buildings in Changdeokgung. Only Injeongjeon, two buildings for the , a palace pharmacy, a building for the government office Ch'unch'ugwan, a building called Biseunggak, a building for the government office Hongmun'gwan, and a building called Sujeongjeon were spared. Injo was crowned at Gyeongbokgung, and resided at Changgyeonggung. He had In'gyŏnggung and Kyŏngdŏkkung demolished and recycled to repair Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung. Injo had the rear gardens renovated, and spent much relaxation time there. In 1624, during Yi Kwal's Rebellion, Changgyeonggung was mostly burned down. Injo then resided in Kyŏngdŏkkung temporarily, and first ordered that Changgyeonggung be repaired. In 1633, after repairs on Changgyeonggung were completed, Injo ordered that Changdeokgung be repaired. He then began to temporarily reside in the palace pharmacy. Construction work on palaces was interrupted and delayed by the 1636 Qing invasion of Joseon. Minor construction projects occurred in the meantime, especially in the rear garden. Significant construction resumed in 1647 and concluded after five months in 1648; a major reason why construction was able to be finished in five months was because of recycling of buildings from In'gyŏnggung. In total there were around 735 rooms in the palace around this time. One significant change after the reconstruction was the presence of more government office buildings. This was in part because the government offices in Gyeongbokgung had not been restored.After this reconstruction and without rivalry from Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung became the definitive main palace of Joseon. More buildings continued to be constructed in the palace. There was a fire in the palace in 1671. Under the reign of King Sukjong (), the rear garden reached its greatest extent. In 1687, a fire destroyed almost all of the Mansujeon area. In 1702, a fire destroyed part of the East Palace. Succeeding kings continued to expand and renovate the palace, although King Yeongjo () ordered much fewer repairs as he primarily resided in Gyeonghuigung. There were a number of fires during the reign of King Sunjo (), with a major one occurring in the 10th month of 1833. During his reign, most construction at the palace was either rebuilding or maintenance work. By the 19th century, Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung were functionally a single palace. The two had some unique government offices, although they had some facilities with overlapping purposes.
Late Joseon and Korean Empire periods
In 1865, efforts began to restore Gyeongbokgung. King Gojong () and his family moved out of Changdeokgung and into Gyeongbokgung on the 2nd day, 7th month of 1868. Although Gyeongbokgung was officially made Joseon's main palace, Changdeokgung continued to see some use. Gyeongbokgung experienced major fires in 1873 and 1876. After the 1876 fire, the royal family moved back into Changdeokgung and did not return to Gyeongbokgung until 1885, after the 1884 Kapsin Coup. The king resided mostly in Gyeongbokgung until 1895. Meanwhile, more maintenance work occurred at Changdeokgung. Such work was interrupted in by the 1882 Imo Incident. In 1891, a number of Changdeokgung's buildings were disassembled and moved to Gyeongbokgung.
Amidst increasing Japanese influence over Korea and the 1895 assassination of Empress Myeongseong at Gyeongbokgung, Gojong fled Gyeongbokgung and made Gyeongungung his official palace. From there, he established the Korean Empire and crowned himself emperor. Gojong did not significantly use Changdeokgung thereafter. Some minor construction work continued at the palace in his absence.
In 1905, Korea was made a protectorate of Japan, governed by the . On July 19, 1907, Gojong was forcefully deposed by Japan and replaced by his son and the final Korean monarch Emperor Sunjong (). After ascending the throne, Sunjong made Changdeokgung his primary residence, while Gojong continued to stay in Deoksugung. Historian Lee Gyu-cheol argued that Japan moved Sunjong to Changdeokgung in order to separate him from his father. Soon after his coronation, Sunjong ordered that Changdeokgung be repaired. He moved into the palace in November of that year. The residency-general oversaw the demolition of large portions of the palace from 1907 to 1909; this has since been viewed critically by Lee et al., who argued it was an attempt to demolish a symbol of Korean sovereignty.
Colonial period