Is this THE palace?

[Catalpa]

www.orientalarchitecture.com/seoul/gyeongbokgungindex.htm

It's cool. If you click on the red arrows on the map, it takes you to a picture of that view! Is this the same palace that DJG is set in (mostly)? I think it is! Now I'm trying to find the kitchen and the ladies' quarters. Heh-heh.

[TheBo]

Geez Catalpa, how beautiful. You are a great researcher. It looks a lot like to me.

Bo

[jacques]

Catalpa said:

www.orientalarchitecture.com/seoul/gyeongbokgungindex.htm

It's cool. If you click on the red arrows on the map, it takes you to a picture of that view! Is this the same palace that DJG is set in (mostly)? I think it is! Now I'm trying to find the kitchen and the ladies' quarters. Heh-heh.

Gyeongbokgung is the historical abode of the imperial household during the Joseon dynasty. Don't know if they allowed dramas to be filmed there, it being a historical site and public museum. To our resident Korean experts--Choko, Sophie, and Jon--what can you tell us?

Also, I wonder if they built actual palace sets--some of the interiors and exteriors of those palaces are starting to look very familiar after having followed 2 Joseon-era dramas (Yeoin Cheonha & Dae Janggeum) and 3 Koryo-era series (Wang Gun, Dawn of Empire, & AOW).

[Choko]

It's time to go to bed in Korea.
So... to be short,

Yes, it is THE palace you have seen in DJG.
The capital city of Seoul has 4 main palaces and the Kyeong-bok-gung is the largest one.
("Gung" means palace, therefore, palace maid is "Gung-nyeo")

Filming or shooting in the four palaces was forbidden more than 2 or 3 years ago by the Ministry of Culure and Tourism to protect Korea's historical heritages.

Therefore, Korea's 3 major broadcasting companies had to set up their own sets. "The Great Jang-geum" is the second period drama to use the new MBC palace set for the shooting. (The first one is "Damo" ;D)

The REAL Kyeong-bok palace is now constructing a new royal kitchen building because the real one was burned down and totally destroyed by Japanese imperialists about 100 years ago.

Now, I really have to go to bed.
I'm going to reply other questions tomorrow.
Good night, bye bye

[Lucy]

It's time to go to bed in Korea.
So... to be short,

Yes, it is THE palace you have seen in DJG.
The capital city of Seoul has 4 main palaces and the Kyeong-bok-gung is the largest one.
("Gung" means palace, therefore, palace maid is "Gung-nyeo")

Filming or shooting in the four palaces was forbidden more than 2 or 3 years ago by the Ministry of Culure and Tourism to protect Korea's historical heritages.

Therefore, Korea's 3 major broadcasting companies had to set up their own sets. "The Great Jang-geum" is the second period drama to use the new MBC palace set for the shooting. (The first one is "Damo" )

The REAL Kyeong-bok palace is now constructing a new royal kitchen building because the real one was burned down and totally destroyed by Japanese imperialists about 100 years ago.

Now, I really have to go to bed.
I'm going to reply other questions tomorrow.
Good night, bye bye

Nighty-night, Choko. Thank you, that was very interesting information about the palace. I had thought that maybe "Jang-geum" was filmed at one of the several folk villages I had read about, but they actually reconstructed the palace? I hope they made a lot of money on that series, because it must have cost a lot.

[jacques]

Good morning Choko! Thanx as always for the awesome response! I'm glad period dramas like Dae Janggeum are bringing attention to Korea's historical treasures like the Kyeongbok palace. It was tragic how the Japanese samurai desecrated and defiled the inner sanctum of the Korean Royal Family. I'm glad work is still in progress to restore the palace to its full glory.

To the Chicago fans: say guyz, after we've had success in having the get-together/party/grand finale viewing of Dae Janggeum, may I suggest the next project: yes, no holds barred, why not plan a group tour of Korea--we can tour the royal palace and walk the hallowed grounds where Jang Geum walked 500 years ago, perchance peek into the imperial kitchen (which Choko says is being reconstructed), walk the streets of Seoul at night (a la our OMR characters, maybe stop by the bar where MJ and RH have their showdowns--and yes, we will pass out waivers saying absolutely NO reenactments/whisky sploshing ceremonies), and take a side-trip to the countryside to see the beautiful landscapes we constantly see on AOW. And you know what the best thing will be--we'll get to meet Choko, Sophie, and all the other Korea-based fans whose contributions to these boards have been, to use a period expression, "immeasurable."

[greatcait]

The kbs web site had a tour of the "palace" or the huge palace set attached to one of the older drama sections. I think it was Dawn of Empire, but I can't seem to find it now. I stumbled upon it by clicking around on stuff, 'cause it's all in Korean so I was flying blind. Thought is was very cool then & wondered if it was indeed the real thing or a working set. I've noticed that many of the buildings or gates are the same in the different shows. I thougth I had recognized the palace of Wang Guhn too.

Great stuff! Thanks everyone
gc

[Jon]

I'll add some more to Choko's reply.

As far as I know, some of the "palace" scenes were actually filmed at the real places in Seoul like Chang-duk-gung. Other scenes were filmed at the special set that MBC had built in Yang-ju, near Seoul.

Some of the "non-palace" scenes were filmed at the Korean Folk Village at Yong-In, a small town near Seoul. (http://www.koreanfolk.co.kr) For the other scenes, the team travelled all over Korea, including Jeju island.

MBC website has a special page (in Korean) that introduces the places shot in DJG. You might want to check at www.imbc.com/broad/tv/drama/daejanggum/onemore/hana_place/index.html

[FlowerLady]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!!!!---- for the time you all take to research, explain and post in detail the wonderful facts you know about Korean culture, social and political hierarchy, food, costuming, historical buildings, hairstyles, language......it's all really appreciated so very much. I've never seen such a wonderful drama on tv (or anywhere else) and to communicate with so many who are knowledgable and generously willing to share such interesting details is a rare thing, indeed! Thank you again.

[jacques]

Jon said:

I'll add some more to Choko's reply.

As far as I know, some of the "palace" scenes were actually filmed at the real places in Seoul like Chang-duk-gung. Other scenes were filmed at the special set that MBC had built in Yang-ju, near Seoul.

Some of the "non-palace" scenes were filmed at the Korean Folk Village at Yong-In, a small town near Seoul. (http://www.koreanfolk.co.kr) For the other scenes, the team travelled all over Korea, including Jeju island.

MBC website has a special page (in Korean) that introduces the places shot in DJG. You might want to check at www.imbc.com/broad/tv/drama/daejanggum/onemore/hana_place/index.html

Thanx Jon for the awesome additional info, especially on MBC's period sets!