Travel Korea: Historical TV Series
‧₊˚✧[INTRODUCTION]✧˚₊‧
Welcome to another article of mine, where we are going to focus on creating a perfect itinerary for fellow historical series lovers, like myself. When I went to South Korea for the first time, I honestly overdid my itinerary and had very delusional ideas about the palaces, specifically about their size. Since I don’t want you to make the same mistake, let me introduce you not only to the beauty of Korean historical sites where historical series were shot but also to places where real history happened. For this reason, this article is going to be a mix of fact and fiction, where the dramas are acting as a fiction part.
Keep in mind that the majority of the pictures here were made by me, so if you want to further use them in your blogs or other social media, please link my MDL name as a source.
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Let’s kick-start this article with my favorite palace of all time: the palace of prospering virtue, Changdeok! This palace has a truly extensive history that dates back to the 15th century, when the palace was used as a main residence for the kings, who favored it very much. The reason behind receiving such an amount of love is the topography. The palace truly feels magical because it is situated in the middle of a forest and has one of the most beautiful gardens, called Huwon, which could be seen in many historical TV series, the most popular currently being Red Sleeve. The name of the garden was oftentimes changed, and the most recent one is not Huwon but Biwon, meaning “secret garden”.
The palace was sadly occupied by the Japanese, who destroyed 70% of the palace grounds, making only 30% of the real remnants still accessible.
If you plan on visiting, either make it a whole-day trip, or my personal recommendation is to go after 11:00 or 12:00 to properly explore the whole grounds, but mostly, close to closing hours, you get an almost empty palace so no one can sabotage your photos!
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The real king Jeongjo (personal name Yi San) was not occupying this residence, but the TV series Red Sleeve was partially shot at the palace, and recently, because of that, the palace got very popular. The real king, though, stood behind the building of an army fortress, which is also used as a filming location, but we won’t be focusing on that.
Now, we will focus on Hwaseong Fortress, which has been built by the true king Jeongjo and is in the center of Suwon for three purposes: the first being as housing for the king when he was on his journey to visit the tomb of his father; the second purpose was to use it as a defense mechanism against invasions; and the third purpose was to move the capital to Suwon, which eventually did not happen.
If you have any plans to visit, I recommend making Hwaseong your whole day trip because it is located about 30km from Seoul, but the grounds are really beautiful, so if you want to explore every cranny, make it your day trip! Also, do not forget to visit the museum, which is nearby and tells the whole history of Hwaseong Fortress.
The most popular historical sageuk of 2012 made Kim Su Hyeon shine brightly, like a jewel. While many people love it for the amazingly romantic story, we cannot ignore the beautiful locations this TV series was shot at.
While it is normal for historical series to be shot at real palaces, this TV series was mostly filmed in Dae Jang Geum Park, which was previously known as MBC Dramia. It is located in Gyeonggi Province and was established in 2011. While the TV series Moon Embracing the Sun is set in the Joseon dynasty, the complex is so big that it contains sets for the Goryeo period TV series as well. As of writing this, thirty-four TV series were shot at the place, and four music videos as well, with SUGA's “Daechwita” being the most popular one.
Since it is in Gyeonggi province, I do advise you to make it a whole-day trip as well. I do think that taking the bus is the most effective way. If your accommodation is in the center of Seoul, you'll probably need to take a minimum of three transfers.
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Once again, a very popular historical series starring top actresses of this age, Park Min Yeong and Yeon U Jin, as King Jungjong.
With this series, we are not going to focus on where the series was shot, but on where the real 11th monarch of Joseon lived—the palace of blessing scenery—Gyeongbok.
Palace Gyeongbok, to this day, remains the biggest palace of all Korean palaces and was the main residence of Joseon monarchs and their families. Built in 1395, it has an extensive history that is very rich, and to this day, the palace mesmerizes many visitors. Jungjong, the main character of this TV series, was born in this palace but passed away in another palace, which happened pretty often.
The palace has nice scenery with the mountain Bugaksan behind it, which leaves many people speechless.
When I went to this palace, I truly overestimated its size because it was really huge. I managed to see every little corner of it, and I went there right at opening, which was at 9:00, and I completely finished my tour about 7 or 8 hours later. My personal advice is to get systematically lost. I know that many visitors cannot wait to join various tour guides, but I never did and never missed anything because, when entering, you have various fliers that you can choose from and everything is written there. My next piece of advice would be to get away from the main pavilions, like the throne room or residence of monarchs. The reason is very simple: if you go at a bad time, the places are overcrowded, and you can hardly see anything. Does it mean you should completely avoid those places? Absolutely not, but in later hours, you have a better chance of seeing the pavilions more empty. So, when you enter, the first thing you see is the throne room; check it out, then turn right and continue with minor pavilions. Trust me, you’re going to find very few people there, but it is worth it. I feel that many people are missing out on the smaller pavilions, which hold the same importance as the big ones. For example, I was saddened that the pavilion of the last queen, Myeongseong, was very empty and no one came to pay their respects, even though the pavilion has great significance.
Other than the amazing throne room, which is the biggest, the palace is popular for another famous place that has been shown in many historical series: the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion. You might not know it by its name, but what if I described it as a pavilion surrounded by a large mass of water and lotus flowers? Yes, it is indeed beautiful, but entry to it is very limited, so do check the website for the opening slots or ask the administration office when buying tickets on site.
Gyeongbok being the main and biggest palace of all palaces, it is a given that it was heavily ruined during the Japanese colonization era. One pavilion in particular was moved to Japan: Jaseondang, the residence of the crown princess and crown prince. Numerous attempts were made to gain the pavilion back, but partially failed because the pavilion was used in Japan as a museum and then caught fire, leaving only cobblestones remaining, which were eventually returned to South Korea.
If you asked me about my personal opinion on the palace, it is, of course, beautiful, but I think Palace Changdeok is the prettiest palace of them all. The reason behind it is obvious once you step into both palaces: Changdeok is simply a “green palace,” while Gyeongbok is very “green empty,” meaning you won’t be seeing many places with grass, trees, or gardens.
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You might be curious why I linked the TV series “The Tale of Nokdu” and the Deoksu Palace, but you might be surprised at how these two are connected.
The series focuses mainly on the main lead, who has to disguise himself as a woman to survive, but we aren’t going to focus on him. Let’s switch our attention to actor Jeong Jun Ho, who played a very significant monarch in Korean history, King Gwanghaegun. If you aren’t overly familiar with Korean history, Gwanghaegun is to this day described as a tyrant who destroyed his country. We aren’t going to focus on his sins, but rather on the palace, since this article’s focus is making the perfect itinerary, right?
Well, the tyrant king was crowned as a monarch directly in palace Deoksu, which is very different compared to other grand palaces. Firstly, it was usually used as an auxiliary palace, but there were some exceptions when it was used as a main residence. Other than its usage, it's very special for its architecture, as it is a mix of western architecture and Korean architecture.
It’s worth mentioning that Gwanghaegun renamed the palace in 1611 to Palace Gyeongun. While on the map, palace Deoksu looks to be very closely located to palace Gyeongbok. Do not make the same mistake as me and think that you can tour both palaces in one day; you can’t. If you want to properly see each corner of the palace, you just can’t do it.
In my humble opinion, I liked Palace Deoksu the least compared to other palaces, simply because the fusion of architecture wasn’t for me. But it is a great place to rest and has many resting spots made in Hanok style, so if you get a sudden rain shower, like me, you can easily hide and still observe the beauty of the place.
Also, in almost all palaces, there is one trinket slash coffee shop that has not only cute souvenirs but also amazing iced drinks. It’s called "Sarang,” so do check it out for sure. I personally found better souvenirs there than in Insa-dong or Myeong-dong.
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We are going to finish this article with the hidden beauty, which is palace Gyeonghui. It’s located in Seoul, but it is quite far from other palaces. Construction began in the 1600s during the reign of the previously mentioned monarch, Gwanghaegun. It’s main purpose was for monarchs to use it in times of emergency, but many monarchs have occupied the palace simply because of the topography.
One of the monarchs occupying this hidden beauty was King Cheoljong, who was portrayed by actor Kim Jeong Hyeon in the TV series Mr. Queen. While the series didn’t focus on the residence much, it is always nice to mention where the actual history happened.
Sadly, the palace is the most destroyed palace out of all five grand palaces in Seoul. It was heavily destroyed by fire in the 19th century, and eventually it succumbed to the Japanese, who created schools for their citizens. The emblem of the Korean monarchy—the throne hall—was dismantled and moved to another part of the city.
Eventually, South Korea started to fund the reconstitution of the palace but managed to reconstruct only 33% of the original palace, which left the palace in a hollow state. Now, this palace poses as evidence of Japanese colonization, which may be the reason why it’s not a “hot” tourist spot.
Before I went there, I talked with a tour guide in different palace, and she asked me which palaces I had visited. I told her that only Gyeonghui remained, and she was shocked that I wanted to go there because it was indeed hollow. It’s not your typical touristic place where you can take splendid pictures, but I didn’t go to South Korea for pictures; I went there to pay my respect to the actual history, so Gyeonghui was a must-visit for me. When I told this to the lovely guide, she almost shed a tear and wished me good luck, thanking me for paying my respects.
Since the palace is quite small, you don’t have to make it your whole-day trip, but make sure to connect the visit with other activities at places that are nearby, because the palace is indeed quite secluded.
‧₊˚✧[OUTRO]✧˚₊‧
Hopefully I didn’t bore you to death with my article, and you have actually enjoyed it. I am a big history nerd, so my whole trip was basically killing my feet visiting historical sites. Shopping wasn’t on my mind much, but I do admit that I visited BL Manhwa Shop. I know that many of you might be curious about how to get to those places, but it’s very hard to say which metro line or bus you should take because it all depends on where your accommodation is. I, for example, stayed near Yonsei University, so my bus stop was right in front of my accommodation, and I basically took off from a stop called „Idaehumun,“ translated as "Ewha University Back Gate,“ and it took me about 16 minutes to get to Gyeonbok Palace, and it was a direct bus. If your accommodation is in the Sinchon area, I feel you’re going to be using buses more often than the metro, so do keep this in mind. Honestly, I tried the metro a few times, but it was very confusing, so I mostly used buses, but I get how inconvenient it can be if you don’t speak Korean. The English version of the stop is usually said way too late, so it is possible to not be able to get off in time. As I do speak Korean, it was convenient for me, but I understand it wouldn’t be for others.
Another question that you might be asking is: How much are the entrance fees to the palaces and museums? Well, they are crazily cheap. Usually the entrance fee is like 1,000 or 1,500 won, which is almost nothing. The biggest expense you’re going to have to pay for is a plane ticket and accommodation.
With this, I am going to end my article, so if you have further questions about my trip or something related to it, you can drop your questions down in the comment section.
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