Gyeongbok Palace and Gwanghwamun Square

Gyeongbok Palace is in the middle of Seoul and a top destination for tourists.  Mom told me she wanted to check out the palace and the statues of Lee Soon Shin and King Sejong that she has seen in drama's.  So, I made a trip out of it, since they are so close to each other.  Gwanghwamun Square is a piece of land in the middle of Sejong-ro (Sejong Road), leading to Gyeongbok Palace.  In the square there are statues of the famous General Lee Soon Shin and King Sejong the Great.  We checked that out first and then went on to view the palace.  It was a cold day but the sun was out and mom really enjoyed her time.  She said, "The drama's don't do it any justice, it is so beautiful."

It was really tiring for mom though because we did a lot of walking and had to take many breaks.  Which I did not mind because I got to get a lot of coffee!!

Here are the photos from that day!

The main gate leading into the palace!

This is a wonderful little pond with a pagoda (???thing) in the middle.  Seriously one of my favorite places in the palace!

This is the queens garden.  It represents the four seasons and the five elements.  It was really pretty during the winter, so I bet it is glorious during the spring and summer months.

Selfies!

The palace has some seriously wonderful views!

The inner throne room!

This is the main throne room, where a lot of business would have gone down!

These rocks signify your rank within the Joseon empire.  The higher your rank, the closer you were to the throne room.

The outside of the throne room.

There are all sorts of animals protecting the place and bringing good luck and such to the inhabitants.  They have all 12 zodiac figures, with each representing different positive aspects of human nature.  They also have the four elements and season animals, with each animal representing a season (Spring, Winter, Fall, Summer), element (Earth, Fire, Air, Water), and direction (N, S, E, W).  This one is the Blue Dragon.

A map of old Seoul that we found on our adventure to find lunch.

The turtle ship that General Lee Soon Shin is famous for commissioning.  It protected the ship from sinking and helped Korea fight of the invading enemy.

General Lee Soon Shin 

King Sejong the Great (inventor of Hanguel, the Korean alphabet)