As the main gate of one of the five grand palaces in Seoul in South Korea, the ornate detail of Honghwamun at Changgyeonggung Palace is quite colorful as it greets visitors on a daily basis into what is officially designated as Historic Site number 123.
Honghwamun at Changgyeonggung Palace: Sunday Morning Photograph
Suganggung Palace was built on the site of this palace in 1418 by King Sejong for his father King Taejong, after he abdicated. In 1483, King Seongjong built a huge palace for three dowager queens and renamed it Changgyeonggung.
Unfortunately, all of the buildings were burned down during the Japanese Invasion in 1592; and the palace was rebuilt in 1616.
Another great fire occurred in 1830, which destroyed many of buildings of the palace, which were rebuilt in 1834 — but Myeongjeongjeon — which is the main hall of the palace — was not damaged; and the building that was rebuilt in 1616 has been preserved. It is the oldest extant main hall of all the Joseon royal palaces; and it has been designated as National Treasure number 226.
Final Boarding Call
At least 85 photographs were taken by me of Changgyeonggung Palace — but I thought that featuring the main gate at The Gate With Brian Cohen was simply apropos.
Please click here for a complete list of the Sunday Morning Photograph series of articles at The Gate With Brian Cohen, which include photographs taken of nature and sights of interest in many countries and territories around the world — including but not limited to:
- Andorra
- Argentina
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Belarus
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- China
- Colombia
- Cyprus — including the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
- Czechia or Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Dominican Republic
- Egypt
- England in Great Britain in the United Kingdom
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Kenya
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Netherlands
- Oman
- Panama
- Philippines
- Poland
- Romania
- Singapore
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- South Korea
- Spain
- Swaziland or Eswatini
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Thailand
- United Arab Emirates
- United States of America
- Uruguay
All photographs ©2014 by Brian Cohen.
