The grounds of Gyeongbokgung, the Grand Palace, Seoul. This is probably Seoul's premier tourist attraction, and rightly so. I was here during my first visit to Korea, some 8 months earlier, but then I was limited to just a quick walk around. I had a better look around this time. The palace was originally constructed in 1394 and it was the largest and most important palace of the Korean Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Home to the Korean royal family it also served as a symbol of majesty for the Korean people. But like all things Korean it's had a storied history: it was burnt down during the 1592-1598 Japanese invasions and reconstructed during the 1860s as a massive 330 building complex, all but 10 of which were demolished in 1911 by the then ruling Japanese government. There are no known photos of the site before the demolitions took place. Today the grounds of the palace offer many a good photo opportunity, just like this one, and also house the National Folk Museum of Korea, which does a great job at keeping old Korean traditions alive. And as you can probably imagine today, Independence Day, it was a tad busier than usual. Grand Palace, Seoul, South Korea. August 15th, 2004
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