Gwanghwamun () is the main and largest gate of

Gyeongbok Palace Gyeongbokgung (), also known as Gyeongbokgung Palace or Gyeongbok Palace, was the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty. Built in 1395, it is located in northern Seoul, South Korea. The largest of the ''Five Grand Palaces'' built by the Joseon ...

, in

Jongno-gu Bosingak bell pavilion Jongno District () is a district () in central Seoul, South Korea. It takes its name from a major local street, Jongno, which means "Bell Road". Characteristics Jongno District has been the center of the city for 600 ye ...

, Seoul, South Korea. It is located at a three-way intersection at the northern end of

Sejongno Sejongno (), also known as Sejong-daero, is a street that runs through Jongno-gu in downtown Seoul. It is named after King Sejong the Great of Joseon. The street is 600 meters in length, but due to its central location it is of great symboli ...

. As a landmark and symbol of Seoul's long history as the capital city during the Joseon Dynasty, the gate has gone through multiple periods of destruction and disrepair. The most recent large-scale restoration work on the gate was finished and it was opened to the public on August 15, 2010.

History

Gwanghwamun was first constructed in 1395 as the main gate to

, the main and most important royal palace during the Joseon Dynasty. During the 1592 Japanese invasion, it was destroyed by fire and left in ruins for over 250 years. Japanese GeneralGovernmentBuildingFront

Gwanghwamun was reconstructed in 1867 along with the rest of Gyeongbokgung Palace by the order of regent

Daewongun Heungseon Daewongun (흥선대원군, 興宣大院君, 21 December 1820 – 22 February 1898; ), also known as the Daewongun (대원군, 大院君), Guktaegong (국태공, 國太公, "The Great Archduke") or formally Internal King Heungseon Heon ...

during the reign of

Emperor Gojong Gojong (; 8 September 1852 – 21 January 1919) was the monarch of Korea from 1864 to 1907. He reigned as the last King of Joseon from 1864 to 1897, and as the first Emperor of Korea from 1897 until his forced abdication in 1907. He is know ...

. The gate stood until 1926, when the Japanese government had it deconstructed and moved it just to the southeast of the current location of the National Folk Museum of Korea to make way for the massive Japanese Governor General Building. The Korean War completely destroyed the wooden structure of Gwanghwamun, and its stone base lay in complete disrepair and neglect. In 1968, during

Park Chung-hee Park Chung-hee (, ; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 ...

's administration, the stone base was again relocated in front of the Japanese Governor General Building. The destroyed wooden structure was rebuilt in concrete, while the sign on Gwanghwamun was written in hangul by Park himself. Gwanghwamun remained as a concrete gate until late 2006.

Restoration

Gwanghwamun underwent a major restoration project since December 2006 and was finished in August 2010. The gate was disassembled and moved back to its original location 14.5 meters to the south, and its wooden structure was again reconstructed in wood. It was rotated in order to accurately place the gate to its original location, which perfectly aligns it with the main north-south axis of

Gyeongbokgung Palace Gyeongbokgung (), also known as Gyeongbokgung Palace or Gyeongbok Palace, was the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty. Built in 1395, it is located in northern Seoul, South Korea. The largest of the ''Five Grand Palaces'' built by the Joseon ...

. The restoration was commenced by the

South Korean government The Government of South Korea is the union government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and is th ...

because an earlier restoration employed concrete instead of traditional materials and wrongly aligned the gate to the entrance of the Governor General Building, now destroyed. The aim of the latest renovation was to restore Gwanghwamun to its original wooden construction while paying meticulous attention to historical accuracy. The name plate of Gwanghwamun was recreated by analyzing its century-old glass plate photographs, while its wooden structure was devised from a blueprint created in 1925 by the

Japanese Colonial Government The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitutio ...

Pine wood A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

used in the construction was painstakingly selected in Korea as the use of foreign imported wood for recreating Korea's historic buildings was strictly forbidden. Gwanghwamun name plate

Gwanghwamun was opened to the public on August 15, 2010, to commemorate Gwangbokjeol, or ''Liberation Day of Korea''. The project cost . A new name plate on the restored Gwanghwamun was unveiled on the same day. The name on the plate was based on Hanja lettering by Im Tae-young, the general in charge of the rebuilding programme by

King Gojong of Joseon Gojong (; 8 September 1852 – 21 January 1919) was the monarch of Korea from 1864 to 1907. He reigned as the last King of Joseon from 1864 to 1897, and as the first Emperor of Korea from 1897 until his forced abdication in 1907. He is known ...

, written against a white backdrop framed by

Dancheong ''Dancheong'' ( ko, 단청; 丹青) refers to Korean traditional decorative colouring on wooden buildings and artifacts for the purpose of style. It literally means "cinnabar and blue-green" in Korean, and is sometimes translated as "red and blue ...

traditional coloring painted by master Yang Yong-ho. The lettering was done by master Oh Ok-jin, using the gakjajang method of calligraphic engraving, a technique designated as Important Intangible Cultural Property no 106. However, cracks in the wooden plate were showing by early November, where a long vertical crack is visible on the left side of Hanja character "光" and beneath "門" in the middle. The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) blamed the dry autumn weather for the contraction of the wood, but experts differs on that an immature pine board was used to meet the deadline for completion and that the wood had not dried properly. After many debates, a repair to the cracks was made, and the panel at CHA concluded in December 2010 that it should be replaced, hence the Government commissioned a new name plate. 13 wooden boards for the new signboard were cut in September 2011 and have since undergone a natural drying process in Gangwon Province. However, in a survey of 5,000 people conducted by the Cultural Heritage Administration, 58.7 percent responded that the inscription should be in Hangul while 41.3 percent opted Hanja. The long-lost 1395 original was written in Hanja. A majority of experts consulted thought the sign should be carved as the original had been.

Tourism

Royal Guard at Gwanghwamun Gate, Gyeongbokgung, Seoul

The area in front of Gwanghwamun, known as the

Gwanghwamun Plaza Gwanghwamun Plaza (, also known as Gwanghwamun Square) is a public open space on Sejongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea. The plaza was opened on 1 August 2009 by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and is part of the City's plans for environment ...

, was opened as a public open space on 1 August 2009. It is part of the

Seoul Metropolitan Government The Seoul Metropolitan Government is a local government of Seoul, South Korea. The mayor is elected to a four-year term by the citizens of Seoul and is responsible for the administration of the city government. The Seoul Metropolitan Governmen ...

's plans for environmentally friendly renovation projects such as the

Cheonggye Stream Cheonggyecheon (Hangul: 청계천, ) is a modern public recreation space in downtown Seoul, South Korea. The massive urban renewal project is on the site of a stream that flowed before the rapid post-war economic development caused it to be co ...

and

Seoul Plaza Seoul Plaza is a central plaza located in front of Seoul City Hall at Taepyeongno, Jung-gu in Seoul, South Korea. It was reopened on 1 May 2004, by Seoul Metropolitan Government, with the purpose of providing the public an open space. It is part ...

. In a poll of nearly 2,000 foreign visitors conducted by the

in November 2011, visitors stated that watching the changing of the guards at the main gate as their third favorite activity in Seoul. The royal changing of the guard ceremony is held in front of the main gate every hour from 10:00 to 15:00. On 23 September 2012, the

started on a trial basis, a 550-m designated section of Sejong-ro as pedestrian-only but permitted for cyclists. The section includes the road from the Gwanghwamun three-way intersection, along

in front of the

Sejong Center for the Performing Arts Sejong Center for the Performing Arts is the largest arts and cultural complex in Seoul, South Korea. It has an interior area of 53,202m². It is situated in the center of the capital, on Sejongno, a main road that cuts through the capital city o ...

to the Sejong-ro intersection.

Transport

* Gyeongbokgung Station on

Seoul Subway Line 3 Seoul Metropolitan Subway Line 3 (dubbed ''The Orange Line'') of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is a rapid transit service that connects Eunpyeong District to Gangnam and southeastern Seoul. Most trains head further northwest to serve Goyang vi ...

- nearest to the Gate * Gwanghwamun Station on Seoul Subway Line 5 - located 600 metres at the southern end of

* City Hall Station on

Seoul Subway Line 1 Seoul Metropolitan Subway Line 1 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is a rapid transit and commuter rail line which links central Seoul, South Korea to Soyosan Station in the northeast, Incheon in the southwest, and Sinchang (Soonchunhyang U ...

and

Seoul Subway Line 2 Seoul Subway Line 2 ( ko, 서울 지하철 2호선), also known as the Circle Line, is a circular line of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway. The line running clockwise is called the "inner circle line" and the counter-clockwise line is called the " ...

- located 800 meters at the southern end of

References

External links