Since it was nearing 5AM to my body, we stopped in a coffee shop (Tom Tom's Coffee, a chain in Korea. Think like Starbucks, which by the way is OBSCENELY expensive here). They had a long line so after we ordered iced coffees they gave us a buzzer! Like a restaurant haha. And to my surprise, it started played David Guetta and showing a movie clip!!! So high-tech. All we get are boring buzzers with shining red lights when it is ready lol.
Kyeong-bok Palace was just as beautiful as I imagined!! There were SWARMS of people there, Dajeong and I couldn't believe it. I'm assuming it was because it was the last night. We almost thought we wouldn't get in because they won't allow people in after 9 (it closes at 10), but we made it to the front of the line and sprinted (both in heels, nbd) across the courtyard to the entrance haha. It looked straight out of the movies or dramas, same architecture, colors, design, etc. Everything was so large and grand, it was awe-inspiring and beautiful. Dajeong says when she has serious talks with friends or wants an introspective moment she goes to the palaces just to walk and think and talk because it is so peaceful. It was dark when we went but I could see how all the water, green trees, wide open spaces, and tall colorful buildings could be nice to sit and think around :) I wish we had such things. Mostly if I need to think I plop down in my room, assume my yoga pose, and go at it :D
There was the main entrance and then a courtyard and another entrance (I kept thinking of the scene in the Curse of the Golden Flower where the girl panicks and is running away towards the end after (during?) the failed invasion of the Golden Flower warriors and gets speared with a thrown spear or something in the entryway of the palace. It looks identical to this one!! Sorry if that was gruesome lol. There was a big main pavilion with a throne room inside it. The stone steps going up it on all sides were HUGE; like seriously I could rock-climb up these damn things. I ended up kind of jumping and springing up each one, nearly falling on my face when I finally got to the top haha. Ever the graceful one, that's me.
There was a huuuuuuuge wide courtyard around this area, with gates spaced periodically. Just wandering around in the courtyards with the huge slabs of stone set in floor was inspiring- you feel so small. Dajeong told me that there was ten gates I think, and that they were always barred in times of war to protect the king. Heading out on one side through a walkway, we came out into an open area with trees and more buildings and a giant pavilion that looked like it was floating on the water! It was the King's pleasure pavilion, where he had his food, music, and women. The reflection on the water of the lit up pavilion and trees around it make it look like there were two :)
Finally when it was time to go we took pictures outside of the great walls that surround the palace. Apparently the area in which it is situated is very famous in dramas. She said particularly if you've seen IRIS (Mom & Dad!) the ending shooting scene is filmed here. I made a panorama so you can see! We walked down the large wide path in the middle of the freeway-like main street and went by statues of the King who created the Korean language and a samurai-like Korean general (? can't remember lol) who protected Korea against the Japanese invasion with his turtle ship. There was a replica of it in front of his statue; it was badass with a covered top to the ship and long, sharp spines coming out of it! We passed a plaque with old Korean on it (like old English! You know, with weird words and spellings and pronunciations. There is "old Korean" too, and it looks totally different, with some now-obsolete characters). There was this cool little wheat maze that ended with a black iron dome in the center too. As mentioned before we rode the subway all the way back to Yeoksam, where I am staying and I fell asleep several times lol. It was only around 11PM here so I tried to reason with myself, but my body was having none of that. All in all, such a fun day full of new experiences!