Changdeokgung Daejo Hall

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.816

Category

Architecture

Era

조선 고종 4년(1867)

Designated year

1985

Location

종로구, 서울특별시— 서울 종로구 율곡로 99, 창덕궁 (와룡동)

Coordinates

37.580006, 126.992345

Daejojeon was the main building of the queen's living quarters. It was first built in 1405, the fifth year of King Taejong's reign. Like many other palace buildings it experienced a series of destructions and reconstructions due to frequent fires, finally being consumed again in a 1917 fire. The present building was moved to this site from Gyotaejeon Hall in Gyeongbokgung Palace in 1920. Several kings of Joseon, including Seongjong, Injo and Hyojong, died in the original or the reconstructed Daejojeon. Kings Sunjo's crown prince, who was given the posthumous title of King Ikjong, was born here. Frequent reconstruction and relocation greatly altered the building itself and its annexes. At present, Daejojeon Hall has a floor space of 36 kan (a unit of measurement referring to the distance between two columns), with 9-kan front space and 4-kan side space. It has a hip and gable roof called paljakjibung. In the courtyard of Daejojeon Hall, there is a small woldae (stone platform), on which great singers of the late Joseon period such as Yi Dong-baek and Song Man-gap occasionally performed for King Gojong and his queen. The 3-kan space in the center was used as a living room, with a bedchamber on each side, the east one for the king and the west for the queen. Small rooms for maids of honor were attached at the side and rear of each bedchamber. The interior of the building was westernized, with a tiled floor, glass windows and western-style furniture.

Location