With Gyeongbokgung Palace on one side and Changdeokgung Palace on the other, it’s common to see foreign visitors dressed in hanbok crossing through Songhyeon Green Plaza. Behind their smiles, you can often catch a hint of travel-.weariness. A bench might tempt them to rest, but the sight of flowers blooming here and there entices them to keep walking, soon posing for photos with the blossoms as a backdrop.
On holidays, families fill the plaza as well. Children race freely across the wide lawn, and their parents follow ─ grateful, perhaps, for a place in the heart of Seoul where no one has to call out, “Don’t run!” Couples, breathing in the sweet scent of the flowers or leaning close for a photograph, find their affection deepening in this shared space.
--- p.16

Consider the difference between the two. Gyeongbokgung, the main palace, was designed to project royal dignity. Its buildings are aligned in a straight north-south axis across a broad plain. While impressive, it can feel monotonous unless one has a deep interest in traditional architecture. Moreover, to see highlights such as the scenic ponds and pavilions, unpainted halls, and the royal library influenced by Qing China, visitors must walk all the way to the far end.
Changdeokgung, by contrast, is built on a gentle slope that rises from west to east, following the ridges of Bugaksan Mountain. Believing that the natural terrain carried vital energy affecting human fortune, the builders preserved the land’s natural contours rather than leveling it. As a result, the structures do not follow a rigid pattern but are scattered irregularly, constantly shifting the visitor’s perspective.
Walking deeper into the Secret Garden (후원, Huwon), one encounters a royal garden so refined it feels almost otherworldly. Among the five palaces of Seoul, Changdeokgung alone is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
--- p.34

The five principal colors used in dancheong are blue, red, yellow, white, and black, together called Obangsaek (오방색) ─ each associated with one of the five directions in East Asian cosmology. Pigments were often derived from minerals and combined to create a wide palette, many shades of which are uncommon in Western traditions.
The dancheong in Joseon palaces can be seen as a form of traditional Korean fine art, because it incorporates symbols and colors rooted in the dynasty’s philosophy. Motifs such as lotus blossoms, clouds, stylized pattern of climbing vines, and mythical creatures like dragons and phoenixes appear throughout interior and exterior surfaces.
--- p.42

trust Seoul. Along the Hanyangdoseong Excursion Trail, you’ll find signposts at intersections and along sidewalks that point the way. Even foreigners can simply follow the English markers reading “Excursion Trail of Hanyangdoseong to XXX Gate.” At confusing dead ends or narrow alleys, you will invariably spot a black sign fixed to the wall, guiding you onward. Part of the joy of walking in Seoul comes from this quiet kindness ─ thoughtful signs standing in place, faithfully showing the way.
--- p.89

Another remarkable space is the Room of Quiet Contemplation, devoted exclusively to two masterpieces of Korean Buddhist art: the Pensive Bodhisattva statues (반가사유상), dated to the 6th-7th century and designated National Treasures of Korea. Passing through a dim tunnel that feels as though time and space are distorted, you emerge into a chamber where the two statues sit side by side beneath a canopy of starlight from the ceiling.
They depict the young prince of the Shakya clan in India seated in meditation, pondering human suffering in search of enlightenment. The serene smile playing at their lips suggests that they have already attained awakening.
--- p.137

Yet this place of life and beauty also became a site of tragedy. In 1866, during the regency of Heungseon Daewongun (흥선대원군) for the young Seoul Walker King Gojong (고종, r. 1864-1907), Catholics were persecuted on the grounds that they threatened Confucian values. Nine out of twelve French missionaries and over 8,000 Korean Catholics were executed. The hill at Yanghwajin known as Jangdubong was the site where many were beheaded, and the area came to be called Jeoldusan (절두산, literally “Beheading Mountain”). Later, the Catholic Church designated Jeoldusan as a sacred site of martyrdom and erected a monument there.