°æº¹±ÃÀÌ ±×·¸°Ô ÀÛ´Ù±¸¿ä? (Is Kyongbok Palace That Small?)

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°æº¹±ÃÀº Çѱ¹À» ´ëÇ¥ÇÏ´Â Áß¿äÇÑ Àå¼ÒÀÌ¸ç °¡Àå Àαâ ÀÖ´Â °ü±¤ÁöÀ̱⵵ ÇÏ´Ù. ±×·¯³ª °æº¹±Ã¿¡ °üÇÑ ¿©·¯ °¡Áö »ç½Çµé Áß¿¡´Â À߸ø ¾Ë·ÁÁ® ÀÖ´Â °Íµéµµ ¸¹´Ù. ¾î¶² °ÍµéÀϱî?

One of the important symbols of Korea, Kyongbok Palace is a main tourist attraction as well. However, our knowledge about this magnificent building complex is often jaded or simply wrong. What are those?

1. "°æº¹±ÃÀº Á¶¼±¿ÕÁ¶ ¿À¹é³â°£ ÀÓ±ÝÀÌ »ì´ø °÷ÀÌÁö."

¾Æ·¡ Áöµµ¸¦ º¸ÀÚ. ÀÌ°ÍÀº 1750³â´ë, Áï ¿µÁ¶ ½Ã´ë¿¡ ±×·ÁÁø °ÍÀ¸·Î ÃßÁ¤µÇ´Â ÁöµµÀÌ´Ù. ±×·±µ¥ ¼ö¸¹Àº ±â¿ÍÁöºØÀÌ ¹Ù´Ù¸¦ ÀÌ·ç°í ÀÖ¾úÀ» °æº¹±ÃÀÌ ¾î¶² ÀÌÀ¯¿¡¼­ÀÎÁö ÇÑÀûÇÑ ºÐÀ§±â·Î ±×·ÁÁ® ÀÖ´Ù. ±×¸²ÀÌ À߸øµÈ °ÍÀϱî? ¾Æ´Ï¸é ¾î¶² ¿¹¼úÀûÀΠǥÇöÀϱî? ±×·¸Áö ¾Ê´Ù. °æº¹±ÃÀº ½ÇÁ¦·Î ±× ´ç½Ã ÆóÇã¿´´ø °ÍÀÌ´Ù.

°Ç±¹ 200ÁÖ³âÀÌ µÇ´ø 1592³â ÀÓÁø¿Ö¶õÀÌ ÀϾ´Ù. °æº¹±ÃÀº È­Àç·Î ¿ÏÀüÈ÷ ¼Ò½ÇµÇ¾ú´Ù. µû¶ó¼­ ±× ÀÌÈÄÀÇ ÀӱݵéÀº ´ëºÎºÐ â´ö±ÃÀ» Á¤±ÃÀ¸·Î »ç¿ëÇÏ¿´´Ù. °æº¹±Ã¿¡ ´Ù½Ã ÀÓ±ÝÀÌ »ì±â ½ÃÀÛÇÑ °ÍÀº ´ë¿ø±º¿¡ ÀÇÇØ º¹¿ø°ø»ç°¡ ÀÌ·ç¾îÁø 1872³â ÀÌÈÄÀÇ ÀÏÀ̾ú´Ù. ±×³ª¸¶ 1896³â ÃÊ ¾Æ°üÆÄõ ´ç½Ã °íÁ¾Àº °æº¹±ÃÀ» ¶°³ª ´Ù½Ã µ¹¾Æ¿ÀÁö ¾Ê¾Ò´Ù. ¹Îºñ°¡ ½ÃÇØµÈ Áö ¹Ý³âÀÌ Áö³­ ÈÄÀÇ ÀÏÀ̾ú´Ù. Áï Á¶¼±¿ÕÁ¶ Àü ±â°£ Áß Àý¹Ýµµ ¸øµÇ´Â ½Ã°£ µ¿¾È¸¸ °æº¹±Ã¿¡ ÀÓ±ÝÀÌ »ì°í ÀÖ¾ú´ø °ÍÀÌ´Ù.

1. "The kings lived here all through the Chosun Dynasty."

Let's look at the old map below. This beautifully illustrated map is dated around 1750, during King Yeongjo's reign. One would expect to see a 'sea of tile roofs', but the Palace is depicted as a rather deserted place. Is there something wrong about the map? Or is this an artistic expression? None of these. The map shows a painful historical fact: Kyongbok Palace was a ruin then.

In 1592, exactly 200 years after the Chosun dynasty was founded, the Japanese invaded the country, a war that would be later called 'Hideyoshi Invasion.' The Palace was burnt to the ground. Kings afterward mostly lived in Changdok Palace. It is only after Kyongbok Palace was rebuilt in 1872 that the royal family returned to once their home. However, the Palace was to be evacuated in just less than 25 years, when, in 1896, King Kojong ran away to the Russian Consulate to hide from the Japanese; the queen had been killed by assassins only 6 months ago and he was never to come back...... After all, the Palace was lived during less than half of the entire dynasty.

2. "°æº¹±Ã¿¡ ºÒ±³ÀÇ Å¾ÀÌ ÀÖ´Â °É º¸¸é ÀӱݵéÀÌ ºÒ±³¸¦ ¹Ï¾ú¾ú³ª?"

°íÁ¾ÀÌ °æº¹±ÃÀ» ¶°³­ ÈÄ °æº¹±ÃÀº ´Ù½Ã ÆóÇã°¡ µÇ¾ú´Ù. 6³â¸¸ÀÎ 1902³â ÀÌ°÷À» ãÀº ÀϺ»ÀÇ ¿ª»çÇÐÀÚ ¼¼Å°³ë Ÿ´Ù½Ã´Â "......±âµÕÀÌ ±â¿ï°í, ÀâÃÊ°¡ ±â´ÜÀ» µ¤°í......"¶ó´Â ±â·ÏÀ» ³²±â°í ÀÖ´Ù. ±×´Â ÀÌ Àå¸éÀ» »çÁøÀ¸·Î ±â·ÏÇÏ¿´´Ù. ±×¸®°í ÇÑÀÏÇÕ¹æÀÌÈÄ °æº¹±ÃÀº ½ÉÇÏ°Ô ¿øÇüÀÌ È³¼Õ µÇ¾ú´Ù. ¸¹Àº °Ç¹°ÀÌ ¾ø¾îÁö°í ½ÉÁö¾î ³ª¹«¿Í Á¶°æµµ ¿¹Àü°ú ´Þ¶óÁ³´Ù. ±×¸®°í °¢Á¾ ž µî ºÒ±³¿Í °ü·ÃµÈ À¯¹°µµ °æ³»¿¡ ¼³Ä¡µÇ¾ú´Âµ¥, ÀÌ°ÍÀº À¯±³¸¦ ¼þ»óÇÏ°í ºÒ±³¸¦ ¾ï¾ÐÇß´ø Á¶¼±¿ÕÁ¶ÀÇ ¼º°ÝÀ¸·Î º¸¾Æ Èñ±Ø¿¡ °¡±î¿î »ç°ÇÀÌ ¾Æ´Ò ¼ö ¾ø´Ù. ÇöÀç ´ë´ëÀûÀÎ °æº¹±Ã º¹¿ø °ø»ç°¡ ÀÌ·ç¾îÁö°í ÀÖ¾î ¸¹Àº °ÍÀÌ ½ÃÁ¤µÉ ¿¹Á¤À̱â´Â ÇÏ´Ù.

2. "There are Buddhist pagodas in the Palace. Did they believe in Buddhism?"

After King Kojong left, the Palace was once again a deserted place. A Japanese historian named Sekino Tadashi visited the Palace in 1902 and wrote: "...... the columns are about to collapse; the buildings are covered with grass......" He recorded this in numerous photographs. The Japanese colonial period saw even more destruction done to the Palace. Many buildings were either destroyed or relocated; even trees and landscape were not the same any more. It is almost a comic tragedy that Buddhist pagodas were placed in the Palace during this period; the Chosun Dynasty had oppressed Buddhism! A major restauration project is under way since 1990, due to be completed by 2009.     

3. "°æº¹±Ã¿¡ °¡¸é ³ÎÂïÇؼ­ ÁÁÀºµ¥......"    

Áö±ÝÀÇ °æº¹±ÃÀº ³ª¶óÀÇ Áß½ÉÀÌ µÇ´Â °Ç¹°·Î¼­ÀÇ ±â´ÉÀÌ Á¤ÁöµÈ, ºñ¾îÀÖ´Â ¹Ú¹°°üÀÏ »ÓÀÌ´Ù. ±×·¯³ª Á¶¼±ÀÇ Á¤±ÃÀ̾úÀ» ´ç½ÃÀÇ °æº¹±Ã¿¡´Â ±×¾ß¸»·Î »ª»ªÇÏ°Ô °Ç¹°ÀÌ µé¾îÂ÷ ÀÖ¾ú´Ù. ¿©±â´Â ¿Õ°¡ÀÇ »ýÈ°°ø°£À̾ú°í, ±¹»ç¸¦ ³íÀÇÇÏ´ø °÷À̱⵵ Çß´Ù. ¸¹Àº °üûµéÀÌ °æº¹±Ã ³»¿¡ µé¾î¿Í ÀÖ¾ú°í °ü·áµéÀº ºÐÁÖÈ÷ °¢ °Ç¹°À» ¿À°¬´Ù.

3. "It's so spacious inside the Palace......"

The Kyongbok Palace has stopped functioning as the center of the country; it is no more than a museum. But in the old days the Palace was literally packed with buildings, small and large. This is where the royal family lived and major issues of running a country were discussed. There were also numerous government facilities inside the Palace; the entire place was bustling with people.

4. "°æº¹±ÃÀº ¿ø·¡µµ Áö±Ýó·³ µ¿¹®°ú ³²¹®À¸·Î¸¸ ÃâÀÔ Çß³ªº¸±º."

Áö±Ý ´ëºÎºÐÀÇ °ü±¤°´Àº µ¿ÂÊÀÇ °ÇÃá¹®°ú ³²ÂÊÀÇ ±¤È­¹®À» ÅëÇØ °æº¹±ÃÀ» µå³ªµç´Ù. ±×³ª¸¶ ±¤È­¹®ÀÌ ¿­¸° °ÍÀº ¾ó¸¶ µÇÁö ¾Ê´Â´Ù. ±× ÀÌÀü¿¡´Â µ¿¹®ÀÎ °ÇÃá¹®ÀÌ °æº¹±Ã¿¡ ÃâÀÔÇϱâ À§ÇÑ À¯ÀÏÇÑ ¹®À̾ú´Ù. ¼­¹®ÀÎ ¿µÃß¹®°ú ºÏ¹®ÀÎ ½Å¹«¹®Àº Ç×»ó ±»°Ô ´ÝÇôÀÖ´Ù. ±×·¯³ª Á¶¼±½Ã´ë¿¡ °¡Àå È°¹ßÈ÷ »ç¿ëµÇ´ø ¹®Àº ¼­¹®ÀÎ ¿µÃß¹®ÀÌ´Ù. Àú À¯¸íÇÑ ¼Û°­ Á¤Ã¶ÀÇ °üµ¿º°°î Á¦ 1¿¬¿¡¼­ ±×°¡ ÀÓ±ÝÀÇ ºÎ¸£½ÉÀ» ¹Þ°í °­¿øµµ °üÂû»çÁ÷À» ÀÓ¸í¹Þ±â À§ÇØ ´Þ·Áµé¾î°¬´ø ¹®ÀÌ ¹Ù·Î ÀÌ°ÍÀÌ´Ù. ±× ³Ê¸ÓÀÇ ÅëÀǵ¿ ÀÏ´ë¿¡´Â ±â¼úÁ÷ ÁßÀΰü·áµéÀÌ »ì¾Ò°í ±Ã±È¿¡ °¢Á¾ ¹°ÀÚµéÀ» Á¶´ÞÇϱâ À§ÇÑ ½Ã¼³µµ ÀÖ¾ú´Ù. ¿µÃß¹®Àº °æº¹±Ã º¹¿ø °ø»ç°¡ ³¡³ª¸é ´Ù½Ã ¿­¸± °èȹÀ¸·Î ÀÖ´Ù.

4. "Only two gated were used then as they are now."

Most tourists enter the Palace through two gates: Konchun Gate on the east and Kwanghwa Gate on the south. It is only recently that Kwanghwa Gate was opened to the public; Konchun Gate was the only public entrance to the Palace before. However, the now-closed western gate, called Yongchu, was perhaps the busiest entrance to the Palace in the old days; this is the same gate that Chung Chol, a 16-century poet, ran through to accept the king's offer for an important government position, as it is vividly illustrated in his now classic Kwandongbyolkok. The area to the west of the Palace is where mid-level government officials and technical staffs lived; there was even a government office in charge of supplying goods to the Palace. Yongchu Gate is due to open again when the restauration project of the Palace reaches completion.

5. "°æº¹±Ã? ºÏ°æÀÇ ÀڱݼºÀÌ À̰ͺ¸´Ù ¿­ ¹è´Â Å©´Ù±¸!"

ÀڱݼºÀ» °¡º¸¸é ±× ¾î¸¶¾î¸¶ÇÑ ±Ô¸ð¿¡ ³î¶ó°Ô µÈ´Ù. ±×·¯´Ù°¡ °æº¹±ÃÀ» ¿Í¼­ º¸¸é "¿¡°Ô, À۱⵵ ÇÏÁö."¶ó´Â »ý°¢À» °®°Ô µÈ´Ù. ±×·¡¼­ ±× Â÷ÀÌ°¡ ¾î¸¶¾î¸¶ÇÑ °ÍÀ¸·Î »ý°¢ÇÑ´Ù. ±×·¯³ª ÀÌ µÎ ±Ã±ÈÀÇ ½ÇÁ¦ ±Ô¸ð´Â ³î¶ø°Ôµµ ±×·¸°Ô±îÁö Å« Â÷ÀÌ´Â ¾ø´Ù. ÀڱݼºÀº µ¿¼­ 750m, ³²ºÏÀ¸·Î 950mÀε¥, °æº¹±ÃÀº Á¤È®ÇÑ Á÷»ç°¢ÇüÀº ¾Æ´ÏÁö¸¸ ´ë·« µ¿¼­ 500m, ³²ºÏÀ¸·Î 850m Á¤µµ°¡ µÈ´Ù. ±×·¯´Ï ÀÛ´Ù´Â °ÍÀº ÀÎÁ¤ÇÏÁö¸¸, ±×·¸°Ô±îÁö Å« Â÷ÀÌ´Â ¾Æ´Ï´Ù. ±×·¸´Ù¸é ¿Ö ¿ì¸®´Â ±×·± »ý°¢À» ÇÏ´Â °ÍÀϱî?

ºÏ°æ Áöµµ¸¦ º¸¸é ÀڱݼºÀº ±×¾ß¸»·Î µµ½ÃÀÇ Áß½ÉÀÌ´Ù. °­·ÂÇÑ Á÷¼±ÃàÀÌ µµ½Ã¸¦ ³²ºÏÀ¸·Î °üÅëÇϸç, ÀڱݼºÀº ±× ÇÑ º¹ÆÇ¿¡ ÀÖ´Ù. ÀÌ ÃàÀÇ ±æÀÌ´Â ±×¾ß¸»·Î ¸î ų·Î¿¡ À̸¥´Ù. ±×¸®°í ±× À§¿¡ ³²¹®, °í·ç µî Àå´ëÇÑ ±Ô¸ðÀÇ °Ç¹°µéÀÌ µµ¿­ÇØ ÀÖ´Ù. ÀÌ¿¡ ºñÇØ °æº¹±ÃÀº µµ½ÃÀÇ ºÏÂÊ¿¡ Ä¡¿ìÃÄ ÀÖÀ¸¸ç, ±Ã±ÈÀ» ¹þ¾î³ª¸é ÃàÀ̶ó°í ÇÒ ¸¸ÇÑ °ÍÀÌ ¾ø´Ù. ±Ã±È³»ÀÇ °Ç¹° ¹èÄ¡µµ Àü¸é ºÎºÐÀ» Á¦¿ÜÇÑ ³ª¸ÓÁö´Â ºñ±³Àû ÀÚÀ¯ºÐ¹æÇÏ´Ù. ÀÌ·± Â÷ÀÌ°¡ ¸ð¿© µÎ ±Ã±ÈÀÇ ½ÇÁ¦ ±Ô¸ð¸¦ ÀüÇô ´Ù¸£°Ô ÀνĽÃÅ°´Â °ÍÀÌ´Ù.  

±×¸®°í ¹«¾ùº¸´Ù ±Ô¸ð¿¡ ÀÇÇÑ ºñ±³´Â ¿ì¸®¸¦ À¯Ä¡ÇÔÀ¸·Î À̲ö´Ù. ÀÌ°ÍÀº ¿ì¸®°¡ »ç¶÷ÀÇ °¡Ä¡¸¦ µ¢Ä¡·Î ºñ±³ÇÏÁö ¾Ê´Â °Í°úµµ °°´Ù. ¿ÀÈ÷·Á °æº¹±ÃÀÌ ³ª¶óÀÇ ±Ô¸ð·Î º¸¾Æ Áö³ªÄ¡°Ô Å©´Ù´Â ´À³¦µµ µç´Ù.

5. "Kyongbok Palace? The Forbidden City in Beijing is 10 times bigger than that!"

The Forbidden City strikes us as something of an unrealistic scale. Period. After visiting the imperial seat of both Ming and Ching Dynasties, one would think Kyongbok Palace is no match in terms of size and grandeur. The reality is, however, not quite so. The Forbidden City measures 750 by 950 in meters; Kyongbok Palace, not as perfectly rectilinear, measures roughly 500 by 850.  It is definitely smaller than, but is almost comparable to, the Chinese goliath. How exactly do our eyes fail us then?

The map of Beijing shows us the Forbidden City at the very center of the city. A strong, north-south urban axis, consisting of a number of huge gates and pavilions and measuring almost 4 to 5 kilometers, goes right through the imperial palace. In comparison, Kyongbok Palace is located in the northern end of the city and the overall axiality of the city is not quite as visually strong. Even the layout inside the Palace is rather flexible, save the area around the main building. These little differences deceive us into believing that the two palaces are incomparable in size.

The size issue usually does not lead us to something meaningful; a person's value has nothing to do with his or her physical size, for example. Perhaps Kyongbok Palace is almost too big then?

6. "¿¡ÀÌ, °æº¹±Ã °í¸®Å¸ºÐÇÏÀݾÆ."

õ¸¸¿¡. Àα٠Áö¿ª±îÁö Æ÷ÇÔÇÏ°í º¸¸é, °æº¹±ÃÀº »ç½Ç ¼­¿ï¿¡¼­ °¡Àå Àç¹ÌÀÖ´Â °÷ÀÇ Çϳª´Ù. ÀÏ´Ü °æº¹±ÃÀº '½Ã³»¿¡¼­ °¡±õ´Ù'´Â ¸»ÀÌ ¿ì½À°Ô µé¸± Á¤µµ·Î ½Ã³» Á߽ɿ¡ À§Ä¡ÇÑ´Ù. °Ô´Ù°¡ µ¿ÂÊÀÇ »ç°£µ¿ ÀÏ´ë´Â Àú À¯¸íÇÑ '¹Ì¼ú°ü °Å¸®'´Ù. ¿©±â¼­´Â Àλ絿ÀÌ ÁöôÀ̾ ÀÏÁ¾ÀÇ ¹®È­º§Æ®¸¦ ±¸¼ºÇÏ°í Àֱ⵵ ÇÏ´Ù. °æº¹±Ã ¼­ÂÊÀÇ ÅëÀǵ¿°ú È¿ÀÚµ¿ ÀÏ´ë´Â °³¹ßÀÌ ´Ê¾îÁö±â´Â ÇßÀ¸³ª, ¿ÀÈ÷·Á ±×·± ÀÌÀ¯ ¶§¹®¿¡ ¾ÆÁ÷µµ Á¼Àº °ñ¸ñ°ú ÀÛÀº ÇÑ¿ÁµéÀÌ ½±°Ô ¹ß°ßµÈ´Ù. ¾ó¸¶ Àü ¿ª»ç¹®È­Å½¹æ·Î¶ó°í ÇÏ¿© °æº¹±Ã ÁÖº¯ ±æµéÀ» Á¤ºñÇÑ ´öºÐ¿¡, °¡À»ÀÌ µÇ¸é ¼­¿ï½Ã³»¿¡¼­ ÀºÇ೪¹«°¡ °¡Àå ¾Æ¸§´ä°Ô ¹°µé¾î ÀÖ´Â ÀÌ ±æÀ» °ÉÀ» ¼ö ÀÖ´Ù. ÀÌ Áö¿ªÀÇ ½ÅÃà °Ç¹°µéÀº Ãþ°í¿Í ³ôÀÌ°¡ ¾ö°ÝÇÏ°Ô Á¦ÇѵDZ⠶§¹®¿¡ Á¦´ë·Î °³¹ß¸¸ ÇÏ¸é µµ½É ¼Ó¿¡ ¾ÆÁÖ ÈǸ¢ÇÑ µ¿³×·Î ÀÚ¸®ÀâÀ» °¡´É¼ºµµ Å©´Ù.

°æº¹±ÃÀº °í¸³µÇ¾î ÀÖÁö ¾Ê´Ù. °æº¹±ÃÀº ¿ì¸®¿Í ÇÔ²² ¼ûÀ» ½¬°í ÀÖÀ¸¸ç ¶Ç ¾ÕÀ¸·Îµµ ±×·² °ÍÀÌ´Ù.

6. "Hey, it's so old-fashioned and boring over there."

Not at all. The area around Kyongbok Palace is actually one of the most interesting places in Seoul. 'Near city center' is almost a wrong way to describe its location; this is the city center itself. The area east of the Palace, called Sagan-Dong, is well-renowned for its 'Museum Street'; the world famous Insadong is also just a few minutes' walk away. Across the Palace, the Tongeui-Dong, Changsong-Dong and Hyoja-Dong area is rather undeveloped, but a true explorer's heaven for its small alleys and traditional houses. Thanks to a recent government project called 'Historical Promenade', the streets around the Palace, lined with tall gingko trees, is now one of the most beautiful destinations for those who love to walk. This area is under very strict building regulations; it has a great potential to be a low-density, pedestrian city center.

Kyongbok Palace is not a historical monument in isolation. It breathes with the city and it will continue to do so in many years to come.   

 

(»çÁø¼³¸í)

 

»çÁø 1. °æº¹±Ã ÀÏ´ëÀÇ °íÁöµµ (A historical map of Kyongbok Palace and the surrounding area)

 

»çÁø 2. ¼¼Å°³ë Ÿ´Ù½Ã°¡ ÂïÀº °æº¹±Ã »çÁø (A photograph of the Palace taken by Sekino Tadashi)

 

»çÁø 3. °æº¹±ÃÀÇ ¿ø»ó ¹èÄ¡µµ (the original layout of Kyongbok Palace)

 

»çÁø 4. Àڱݼº (the Forbidden City)

 

»çÁø 5. °æº¹±Ã Àα٠Áö¿ªÀÇ Ç×°ø»çÁø (aerial photograph of the Palace)