Deoksugung Heungdeokjeon Area Restores Appearance from 120 Years Ago

Cultural Heritage Administration to Begin Restoration Next Month... Building Identified Based on Excavation Results
"Seonwonjeon and Heungbokjeon Areas Also Planned for Restoration Completion by 2039"

Old Photo of Deoksugung Heungdeokjeon Area Owned by Newcastle University

The Heungdeokjeon area of Deoksugung Palace, damaged during the Japanese colonial period, will be restored to its appearance from 120 years ago. This was the site of the last royal ritual ceremony during the Korean Empire period. Originally, it was established as Iancheong, a temporary storage for royal ancestral tablets and royal portraits. After the Seonwonjeon fire destroyed the royal portrait, portraits from various regions were brought in for restoration. However, it was used as the mourning hall for Queen Hyojeong Hong (1904), Empress Sunmyeong Min (1904), and Empress Sunheon Eom (1911), and was dismantled in 1919 after Emperor Gojong passed away.

According to the Cultural Heritage Administration on the 28th, restoration work will begin next month. The government secured the Seonwonjeon, Heungdeokjeon, and Heungbokjeon areas through a land exchange with the United States in 2011. The Cultural Heritage Administration’s Palace and Royal Tombs Division identified the layout characteristics and forms of various buildings based on excavation surveys conducted from 2013 to 2016, as well as various photos and documents. These include Heungdeokjeon, the corridor in front of the pavilion, the arcade, the triple gate, and the Eojaesil (royal portrait storage room). Restoration will be completed by 2027, and royal ritual ceremonies from the Korean Empire period will be reenacted. Various programs, including exhibitions related to state funerals, will also be prepared.

1910 Deoksugung Heungdeokjeon Area Floor Plan

Park Chan-jeong, an official of the Restoration and Maintenance Division of the Palace and Royal Tombs Division, said, "We plan to complete the verification and restoration maintenance of the Seonwonjeon and Heungbokjeon areas by 2039," adding, "We will restore the Deoksugung palace grounds, which were the main stage of political diplomacy during the Korean Empire period, to enhance the value where tradition and modernity coexisted."

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