Daeonsil was built in 1907 as the first modern Western-style greenhouse of its kind in the nation. Its elegant glass structure is indicative of the then-popular Victorian style represented by the likes of the Crystal Palace, which housed expositions across Europe and America from the late 19th to early 20th centuries.
Changgyeonggung Palace Golden hour Photoshoot
Changgyeonggung Palace Golden Hour Photoshoot
The greenhouse was built by a French company according to a design by Hayato Fukuba, the chairman of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Imperial Garden.
During the renovation works, the initial prototype of tiles used on the floor was identified. New tiles to replace the old ones were produced through restoration based on an original manual from the British producer of the tile in 1905.
The trail in Daeonsil of Changgyeong Palace naturally dates back to the time when Changgyeonggung Palace was renamed as ‘Changgyeongwon’. In 1911, the Japanese built Changgyeong Palace with a zoo, a botanical garden, and a museum. At that time, some 60 embellishes, fences, and palaces were demolished and transformed in Changgyeong Palace. It is also a Japanese idea to cut off the close ties between Changgyeonggung Palace and Jongmyo Shrine and create a road named Yulgok-ro.
If you look at a black-and-white picture of an African giraffe entering Honghwamun Gate, the main gate of Changgyeonggung Palace, the eyes of the born person will grow, at least after the mid-1980s.
When you stand in front of the newly decorated greenhouse, you have mixed feelings. The large pond of Chundangji is known to have been the site of ‘Naeongpo’ until the botanical garden was built, and the area was known to have been used for farming by the king himself. Looking at the warm room where rice was grown well in the rice fields and plants moved from one country to another, you may feel uncomfortable about the situation of King Sunjong who was trapped in a greenhouse.
This is why it is so tempting to listen to the angry sentiment and memories of citizens across the generations. “I have no idea of the history of Changgyeong Palace,” said a 20-something lover who met at the Daeonsil of Changgyeong Palace. “The greenhouse, remnants of Japanese colonization period, but not throughout watching like a bad one to remember the past.”
A gentleman (66), who listened to young people, said, “Who hasn’t been to Changgyeongwon Cherry Blossom Play until the 1980s, for anyone who had been to Seoul? As young people flock to Yunjung-ro, Yeouido, when cherry blossoms bloom, people flocked to this place.”
In the middle of winter, Daeonsil seems to accumulate memories of the new site. While walking around the Daeonsil of Changgyeonggung Palace, walking around the Chundangji Pond, walking from Changgyeonggung Palace to Jongmyo Shrine, you might want to continue the life of Eungbong Peak. The Changgyeong Palace management office provides free information to visitors four times a day.
