National Palace Museum

With our little guy in tow, it took two trips for us to see everything in the National Palace Museum of Korea, but it was worth the time. We've loved visiting all of the palaces and other Joseon era attractions, but much of the time our view of the details has been from afar or down below. This museum, which is on the western grounds of Gyeongbokgung Palace, enabled us to see everything at our eye level - so awesome! Here are a few of our favorite pictures from our visits:

example of a palace throne

map of Gyeongbokgung Palace grounds

architectural dragon element

ceiling tile from above a throne

stone haechi guardian

large urn

ornate wooden cabinet

The next set shows an example of a traditional water clock - the animation of how it worked is so very cool. I managed to find a Youtube video describing this and the sundial's use in Korea - there are English translations along the bottom, so click HERE to watch it.

the chiming mechanism - gongs and drums

There is a mix of old and "new" within the museum.  Michael liked the cars on display.

We liked all of the ornate artifacts.

a shield

Liquor containers

liquor container

jar for keeping the royal placentas from childbirth

On our most recent visit, there was a temporary exhibit of artwork from the Vatican on display - so we visited Italy while in Korea.  :)  We were not allowed to take pictures in most of those rooms, but were allowed to do so for the last exhibit - these beautiful golden doors.

Interested in visiting the museum while here? Here is a MAP link.

Not able to visit it in person? No problem - it ha s a GREAT website feature, which showcases their top 50 artifacts with pictures and historical descriptions. 

Take a virtual tour!

Full directions and details can be found in my article for Korea Ye! HERE.