A Moonlit Tour of Changdeok Palace
KOREA TIMES
03-25-2010 17:55
 Around 100 foreign visitors and tourism industy experts will visit Changdeok Palace on March 30 for a moonlit stroll around its signature gates and buildings. / Courtesy of KTO |
By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter
Changdeok Palace is one of the traditional landmarks of the nation’s capital and a must-visit venue for tourists.
A new program will be launched next week to introduce an enchanting nighttime view of the palace.
The Korea Tourism Organization and the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea have jointly organized a “moonlit tour” of one of Seoul’s most beautiful palaces.
Around 100 participants have been invited to the launch of the program on March 30, including foreign envoys, English teacher and tourism industry experts.
“Through this program, we hope that foreign visitors will get to experience a view of Changdeok Palace at its best,” Chung Jin-soo, a KTO director for the program said. “We will monitor comments from the participants and incorporate them in future programs for introducing the nighttime scenery of our traditional palaces.”
Participants will get to see some buildings of note, including Donhwa-mun (built in 1412), Injeong-jeon (main hall) and Yeongyeong-dang, where the famed ‘Pansori’ (Korean opera) singer Ahn Sook-sun will offer a special performance of traditional Korean folk tunes.
KTO President Lee Charm will guide the participants through a stroll of some of the palace’s signature gates and buildings.
Like the other Five Grand Palaces in Seoul, the Changdeok Palace was heavily destroyed during the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945). Only 30 percent of the palace structures remain.
The palace, however, was registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997.
The UNESCO committee describes the site as an “outstanding example of Far Eastern palace architecture and garden design” and called it exceptional because the buildings are “integrated into and harmonized with the natural setting.”
Today there are 13 buildings remaining on the palace grounds and 28 pavilions in the gardens.
Traditional venues have been important tools in developing Korea as tourist destination of overseas visitors.
In 2009, the KTO and the heritage administration collaborated with eight travel agencies in Japan to host 2,506 visitors to Korea’s traditional palaces and royal tombs.