10.자선당 (동궁전)
- The Crown Prince's Quarters, Jaseondang Hall
- 'Donggungjeon means royal residence located in the east side of the palace. The east side symbolizes spring when all things in the universe come back to life. That’s why the crown prince’s investiture was held in spring.
- 'Jaseon' means 'to nurture one's good nature'. In here, King Munjong spent twenty years as the crown prince. Crown Princess Gwon, whose posthumous title was Queen Hyeondeok, gave birth to King Danjong on July 23 in 1441, in the 23th year of King Sejong's reign, and died the next day, If the queen had not died so early, the tragedy of her brother-in-law, King Sejo, usurping her son's throne might have been prevented. Later, after King Gojong restored Gyeongbokgung, his crown prince(later Emperor Sunjong) also resided in here.
- Donggungjeon is located in the east side of Geunjeongjeon and Sajeongjeon Hall, and its area was divided into Jaseondang and Bihyeongak Hall, Jaseondang was the crown prince's and princess's residential quarters, and Bihyeongak was the crown prince's office quarters. In front of Donggungjeon, there were two offices which took responsibilities for educating and guarding the safety of the crown prince: one was Chunbang which educated him, and the other was Gyebang which guarded him. Thus the crown prince was well prepared to be the next king.
- come back to life. 소생하다
- crown prince 왕세자
- symbolize 상징하다
- quarter 4/1/ 구역(지구)/ 숙소(막사)
- residential quarters 거주지
- investiture 수여식(임관식)
- nurture [ˈnɜːrtʃ-] 양육하다/ 육성하다/ 키우다
- nurture one's good nature 착한 성품을 기르다
- Crown Princess 왕세자비
- usurp [juːsə́ːrp] 빼앗다. 찬탈하다
- 세종/ 문종(현덕왕후 권씨)/ 단종/ 세조(수양대군-세종의 둘째 아들)
- restore (타)복원하다, 복구하다/ 회복시키다/ 복직시키다
- recover (자)회복되다/(타)회복하다/ 되찾다
- took responsibilities for ~을 책임지다
Donggungjeon was the residence of the crown prince, located on the eastern side of Geunjeongjeon and Sajeongjeon Halls.
In traditional East Asian symbolism, the east represents spring — the season when all living things come back to life. Because of this meaning, important royal ceremonies related to the crown prince were often associated with spring, symbolizing growth and renewal.
The name Jaseon means “to cultivate one’s good nature,” reflecting the expectation that the crown prince should constantly refine his character and prepare to become a wise ruler.
Donggungjeon was not just a symbolic space. It was a lived-in royal quarter where future kings were trained and educated.
Inside the complex, there were two main areas.
Jaseondang served as the residential quarters where the crown prince and crown princess lived.
Bihyeongak functioned as the office space where the crown prince studied and carried out official duties.
In front of Donggungjeon were two important institutions responsible for educating and protecting the crown prince.
Chunbang was in charge of educating the crown prince in Confucian classics, governance, and ethics.
Gyebang was responsible for his security and protection.
Through this system of education and training, the crown prince was carefully prepared to become the next ruler of the kingdom.
Donggungjeon also has a deeper historical memory.
For example, during the reign of King Sejong, Crown Prince Munjong spent many years here preparing for kingship.
Later, Crown Princess Gwon, known posthumously as Queen Hyeondeok, gave birth to the future King Danjong here in 1441, but died shortly after giving birth to him.
In later years, after the restoration of Gyeongbokgung, Crown Prince Sunjong of the Korean Empire also stayed in this area.
Donggungjeon therefore represents both education and continuity — a place where future kings were raised, trained, and shaped through generations.
It is not easy to find a toilet in the palace today. While touring the palace, many visitors wonder where the toilets were located in the past.
Kings and queens used portable toilets called “maewooteul,” which means “a frame for maewoo.”
“Maewoo” refers to the rainy season from mid-June to early July, when plum fruits become fully ripe and fall like raindrops.Then what about other people in the palace?
How did they take care of their natural needs?
This is one of the most common questions from tourists.- Long ago, there must have been many outhouses in several places, but during the Japanese occupation, the palace had been so severely destroyed that it is not easy to find their trace. However, we can refer to the Map of the Northern Palace or the Painting of the Eastern Palaces and infer the original appearance of the outhouses. According to the Map of the Northern Palace, there were twenty eight areas of outhouses in Gyeongbokgung. The Donggungjeon area was badly damaged during the Japanese occupation. However, when it was restored in 1999, two outhouses between Jaseondang and Bihyeongak were also rebuilt. Now, not only these two but also four other outhouses were restored in the east of Bihyeongak. But many tourists never notice that these are outhouses because they are colorfully decorated with multicolored painting called 'dancheong'. They don’t look like the outhouses as we usually imagine.
- outhouse 별채/ 변소, 옥외 화장실
- protable 운반할 수 있는, 휴대용의
- release 풀어주다. 방출하다
- physiological 생리적인
- necessity 필요
- “take care of their natural needs” 는
직역하면 “자연적인 욕구를 해결하다”이고, 실제 뜻은 “생리 현상을 해결하다”, 즉 “화장실을 가다”입니다. - refer to
- 참조하다, 조회하다, 문의하다
- 언급하다
- 가리키다
- notice
- ..을 알아차리다, ...(이라는 것을)알다, 깨닫다.
- ..에 주의(주목)하다
- 통지하다
- infer 추론하다
- heavily 심하게
- painting 그림, 유화, 수체화/ 그림 그리기, 화법/ 페인트칠하기
- as ~ 처럼, 대로
- 소변은 '지'라 불리는 요강에, 대변은 '매화틀(매회틀, 매우틀)에서 봄/ 왕의 대변을 '매화'라 하여 '매화틀'/ 대변 볼때 냄새와 소리를 나지 않게 재를 넣었기에 '매회틀'/ 왕의 대변과 소변을 '매우'라고 불렀기에 '매우틀'이라고 부름
## Where Were the Toilets in the Palace?
One of the most common questions visitors ask while touring Gyeongbokgung Palace is very simple.
Where were the toilets?
It is not easy to find public toilets in the palace today, so many people naturally become curious about how things worked in the past.
In the royal family, the king and queen used portable toilets called maewooteul, which literally means “a frame for maewoo.”
The word maewoo refers to the rainy season from mid-June to early July, when plum fruits ripen and fall like raindrops. This seasonal expression was used as a gentle and symbolic name.
But what about everyone else in the palace?
How did court officials and workers take care of their daily needs?
In the past, there must have been many small toilet buildings spread throughout the palace grounds.
However, during the Japanese colonial period, much of Gyeongbokgung was severely damaged, and many of these structures disappeared, so their traces are difficult to find today.
Still, historical sources such as the Map of the Northern Palace and paintings of the royal palaces help us understand what the original layout may have looked like.
According to the Map of the Northern Palace, there were as many as 28 toilet areas within Gyeongbokgung Palace.
The Donggungjeon area was also heavily damaged during the colonial period. However, during restoration work in 1999, two toilet structures between Jaseondang and Bihyeongak were reconstructed.
Today, there are even more restored toilet buildings in the eastern part of Bihyeongak.
However, most visitors walk past them without realizing what they are.
That is because they are beautifully decorated with traditional multicolored paint called dancheong.
Rather than looking like simple utility buildings, they blend naturally into the palace architecture and are easily overlooked.
As you leave Jaseondang Hall and walk northwest toward Hamhwadang Hall and Jipgyeongdang Hall, you can see a special stone pillar on the left side of the road. It is called Punggidae.
Punggidae was a scientific tool used during the Joseon Dynasty. It was used to observe the weather, like a sundial and a rain gauge. The Joseon people believed that farming was very important for the country, so they carefully observed weather changes.
There was a groove on the top of Punggidae where a flag was placed. By watching the flag, people could check the direction and speed of the wind.
- engrave 새기다. 조각하다
- grave
- gauge [ɡeɪdʒ] 표준 치수, 치수/계측기
- astronomical and meteorological 천체 기상의
- devote something to something ~을 ~에 바치다(쏟다)
- basis 근거, 이유/ 기초
- put effort into ~에 노력을 들이다
- pillar 기둥
As you leave Jaseondang Hall and walk northwest toward Hamhwadang and Jipgyeongdang Halls, you will notice a tall stone pillar on the left side of the path.
This structure is called Punggidae.
At first glance, it may look like a simple stone monument. However, it once played an important role as a scientific instrument during the Joseon Dynasty.
In a farming society like Joseon, understanding the weather was extremely important for agriculture and daily life. For this reason, the government carefully observed changes in wind, rain, and seasons.
Punggidae was one of the tools used for this purpose.
At the top of the stone pillar is a small groove where a flag or cloth was attached.
By observing how the flag moved, people could tell both the direction and strength of the wind.
In this way, Punggidae functioned as an early weather-measuring device, helping people understand and respond to changes in nature.
댓글 없음:
댓글 쓰기