HUWON GARDEN - SECRET GARDEN

Belonging to Changdeokgung Palace, it is also classified as a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1997. It has changed its name over the years, from Bugwon (northern garden) to Geumwon (forbidden garden), then to Biwon (secret garden) under the Japanese colonization. The latter is still used today as well as its current name: Huwon.

It was a place of private pleasures of the royal family. Built at the same time as the palace in 1405, it also underwent many fires. Most of the 28 buildings are later than 1623. This huge park is composed of forests, ponds, springs and pavilions where the king and his family came to rest, organize banquets, recite and compose poems. It is the only intact example of a Korean royal garden. The Buyonjeong Pavilion built in the 18th century seems to float above the lotus pond. Opposite, the Juhamnu Pavilion built in 1777 has two floors: on the second floor was located the Gyujanggak Royal Library, one of the depositories of the national archives; on the second floor, the king gave banquets and parties. In front of this pavilion stands the beautiful Osumun Gate. To the east of the pool, Yeonghwadang Hall was rebuilt in 1692 as a place of meditation and rest for the king. From the 18th century, it was used as a place for the recruitment of civil servants (or mandarins), gwageo. Near the Aeryeonji pond, the Bullomun gate, made of stone, symbolizes the inexorable passing of time. One of the most interesting buildings is the Yeon'gyeongdang House. Built in 1828 by King Sunjo, it is an exact reproduction of a nobleman's house(yangban). The king used to come here to experience the lifestyle of his subjects (it should be noted that he did not choose the most miserable one). When he lived in this house, he dressed, ate, and acted in all respects like those aristocrats whose life is based on scholarship and position in the administration. The nobles could not have houses larger than 99 kan (the kan is a Korean unit corresponding to the interval between 2 columns, i.e. 1.818 m).
The only Korean pavilion in the shape of a fan is reflected in the basin shaped like a Korean peninsula, the Bandoji. After the "jade stream", Ongnyucheon dug in 1636, which flows from one of the four springs in the garden, is the Seonwonjeon Shrine. The portraits of 12 kings, burned during the Korean War, are kept here.