Palaces welcome foreign guests during nuclear summit

Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung offer a glimpse into traditional side of Korea


As the 2012 Seoul Nuclear Summit kicked off on Monday, Seoul’s ancient palaces opened special programs for the foreign guests to get a glimpse of Korea’s royal culture throughout the week.

The participating palaces are Gyeongbokgung, the main and the largest palace in Seoul; Changdeokgung, a UNESCO world heritage site; and Deoksugung, the only royal palace that houses western style buildings.

“Gyeonghoeru Yeonhyang”

At Gyeongbokgung’s Gyeonghoeru, a 600-year-old building surrounded by a pond where court banquets used to be held during the Joseon period (1392-1897), a special late-night gugak concert will be held every night from Wednesday to Friday at 8 p.m.

Titled “Gyeonghoeru Yeonhyang,” the program comprises Korea’s traditional dance, vocal and instrumental music. “Yeonhyang” roughly translates as “state banquet.”

The concert, which was held twice last year as a pilot program, received an extremely positive response.

During the special performance, there will be a reenactment of Joseon’s traditional court ceremony, which was held at the pavilion when foreign officials visited the palace.

One of the highlights of the evening is the performance of “pansori,” Korea’s traditional vocal and percussion music. It will be performed by pansori singer Ahn Sook-sun, who is the dedicated master of a Korean intangible cultural heritage. She will be singing on a boat on the pond of Gyeonghoeru under the moonlight. The pansori performance will be accompanied by jeongak, the classical genre of Korea’s traditional music, and Joseon’s court dance.

The special event will close with “jultagi,” a tightrope walking performance. Jultagi was once widely practiced among the clowns of Joseon, accompanied by music and sarcastic banter between the walker and an earthbound clown.

“Gyeonghoeru Yeonhyang” is the only royal palace event that is available for the public to attend during the summit week. Tickets range from 30,000 won to 50,000 won, and can be purchased at www.interpark.com.

“Moonlight Trail of Changdeokgung”

Unlike Gyeongbokgung, whose main buildings are arranged in strict architectural topography, the buildings in Changdeokgung are positioned rather freely. The UNESCO World Heritage site may look like it was built without any pre-arranged plans, but all the buildings of the palace are designed to sit in harmony with the garden that surrounds them.

On Tuesday, a special late-night tour of the palace, titled “Moonlight Trail of Changdeokgung” will be held at 7 p.m. History experts will accompany tour participants, explaining the palace’s history, culture, and architecture. From 9:10 p.m. to 9:40 p.m., a 30-minute concert of jeongak, pansori, and traditional court chamber music will be performed.

The palace’s garden, commonly known as Biwon, is another charm of the palace. Filled with various pavilions, ponds, trees and oddly shaped stones, the garden offers a picturesque view especially under the moonlight.

The event will be attended by about 20 foreign reporters who have been invited to Korea to cover the nuclear summit, according to the Culture Ministry.

“Deoksugung Pungryu”

Among the five grand palaces in Seoul, Deoksugung is the only one that has Western-style buildings.

It originally served as the residence of Prince Wolsandaegun (1454-1488), the older brother of King Seongjong (1469-1494). It became a royal palace during the Imjin War (1592-1598), as all the other palaces were destroyed by the Japanese in 1592. It later became the residence of Emperor Gojong of Korean Empire (1852-1919). He died in the palace’s Hamnyeongjeon.

Among the many buildings in the palace, Jeonggwanheon is Korea’s oldest western style building. It was built in 1900, and is famously known as the place where Gojong enjoyed his coffee.

Last week, a special event was held at Jeonggwanheon of the palace prior to the kick off of the nuclear summit.

Consisting of Korea’s folk music and dance, the special performance, titled “Deoksugung Pungryu (appreciation for the arts)” was held at 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Some of the country’s best vocalists, instrumentalists and dancers were asked to perform for the event, according to the Culture Ministry.

Prior to the performance on Saturday, a reenactment of Emperor Gojong’s meeting with a foreign envoy was staged at Jeonggwanheon as well. The event was attended by both foreign guests and ordinary visitors to the palace.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)