Gyeongbokgung

awoke Saturday morning ready to get on with Exploring Korea: Operation Moneyspend.....the weather has been perfect lately, steadily ranging from about 12-14 degrees on the thermometer with a slight breeze.....autumn here lasts so much longer than it does back in the Land of Snow

achieved contact with esteemed offendee Tomek and we ushered ourselves on towards a district called Jongo-gu.....Jongo-gu appears to be a business and technological mecca nestled around Seoul's most famous national historical sight, Gyeongbokgung Palace.....the palace itself sits at the end of an extremely busy street and essentially backs onto the mountains.....it is a calm and inspiring sight.....if you can somehow block out the sound of the thousand cars and Koreans coupled with the imagery of high-rise block sections of banks and businesses that happen to also be there.....the palace itself is striking, however, it is much easier to appreciate at dusk, at which point it is illuminated through a complex system of strategically placed lights.....the outer wall encloses several courtyards and various palacial dens of high nobility and notoriety

adjacent to the palace is the palace museum, host to over 40,000 items hailing predominantly from the Joseon Dynasty.....of particular note is the throne and throne room.....the king's throne is situated in the centre of the throne room, accompanied by carvings of dragons and phoenix's, traditional symbols of strength, power and nobility.....the throne room also has an enormous painting of 5 mountain cliffs and the sun and moon placed directly behind the throne.....the throne is placed in the centre of the painting symbolizing balance and wisdom.....the museum also contains an item labeled the Tri-Tiger Sword Against Ill Power that i desperately wanted to wave around maniacally in proud declaration of the end of the Joseon Dynasty and inception of the Len Dynasty