Cultural Heritage Administration Secures Basis for Restoration and Maintenance of Seonwonjeon Hall at Deoksugung Palace

Traces of Building Foundations Such as Jeonggak and Woldae Discovered
Evidence Confirmed for Estimating Location and Scale of Sukgyeongjae and Eojaesil

Seonwonjeon Hall in Deoksugung Palace was a space that housed the royal portraits called Eojin (御眞) of past kings. It was built in 1897 but was destroyed by fire in October 1900. The following year, it was relocated and rebuilt at the site of Su-eocheong north of the then U.S. Legation (Jeongdong site, former Gyeonggi Girls' High School site), but after King Gojong passed away in 1919, it was dismantled by the Japanese colonial government.

Since June last year, the Cultural Heritage Administration's Palace and Royal Tombs Division, which has been investigating the area, recently discovered traces of the building's foundation. These findings will be unveiled on the afternoon of the 22nd at the excavation site within the Seonwonjeon area. The confirmed relics include foundational structures of the main hall (殿閣) and the moon platform (月臺), as well as the locations and sizes of auxiliary buildings such as the corridors (行閣). The main hall refers to a large building used by the king or royal family, and the moon platform is a wide base installed in front of the main building.

The Seonwonjeon building was constructed with nine bays in the front and four bays on the side during its reconstruction. Currently, only traces of six bays in the front and four bays on the side remain. The Palace and Royal Tombs Division confirmed traces of the building's foundation made using long, finely cut stones and roof tile fragments. They also identified the location where the front stairs, which appeared in past records and photographs, were installed.

They also found information indicating that Heungdeokjeon (興德殿) was relocated to secure space for rebuilding Seonwonjeon after the fire. Heungdeokjeon was originally built within the Seonwonjeon area. It was a space where royal portraits from various regions were brought and copied to restore the portraits lost in the Seonwonjeon fire. It was also used as a mortuary hall (殯殿) housing the bodies of Queen Hyojeong and Queen Sunmyeonghyo.

The Palace and Royal Tombs Division also confirmed evidence to estimate the locations and sizes of Sukgyeongjae, where the king changed clothes and prepared before performing rites; Eojaesil, where the king stayed while preparing for the rites; and Jajungbaeseolcheong, where items needed for the rites were stored and prepared. Additionally, they secured a large amount of data that could serve as a basis for future restoration of the Seonwonjeon area, such as Hwaggye, a flower bed made by stacking stones high to plant flowers, and wells. Based on this, they plan to promote restoration and maintenance projects for the Seonwonjeon area by 2039.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.