Gyeongbokgung Palace

I spent the better part of Saturday in downtown Seoul, at one of its most important historical sights, Gyeongbokgung Palace (I know, it's a mouthful). Gyeongbokgung was an ancient Palace, built during a Korean Dynasty that began in 1395. Between that time, it was razed by the Japanese when they invaded Korea (between 1592-1598), was and left in ruins for the next 250 years. In 1868, the Korean government of the time finally decided to begin rebuilding it, but 85% of the original buildings were torn down - so the majority of the buildings are actually replicates of what they once were.
he
Still, it was a pretty interesting walk. While Gyeongbokgung is actually in the middle of Seoul, you can hardly tell, without stepping outside its walls. I don't know if the Korean government purposely disallowed the building of any Skyscrapers around it, or if the surrounding land just doesn't allow for them, but it has a strange escapist feel to it.

I had the chance to witness the 'changing of the guard', just outside the palace. It's a pretty cool reenactment - and not quite we're used to, on Parliament Hill. I took a video, as they were approaching, so take a look if you're interested - it's not really riveting stuff, but I found it interesting.