Gyeongju-Busan-Seoul Day 9 (Part 5) – Gwanhungmun Square

11 May 2012 

The Gwanghwamun Square featured fountains and monuments honouring Admiral Lee Shun Shin and also King Sejong (source of name of the road). At the north end of the square is the Gwanghwamun, the main and largest gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Upon entering the square from Cheongye Plaza, we came to a long fountain surrounding the monument honouring Admiral Yi Sin Shun. The fountain consists of rows of synchronised water jets, shooting up randomly it seems, from holes on the floor.

12.23 Fountain beneath the monument honouring Admiral Yi Sun Shin.

The fountain is called the 12.23 Fountain and there is a signboard explaining the name. Admiral Yi (or Lee) was a Joseon-era admiral who was dismissed after losing most of his naval forces during a battle with Japan. He was later re-instated by the King who asked him to abolish the navy and join the ground forces as the King believed the Joseon navy could not be salvaged. Admiral Yi replied to the King that he still has 12 ships, showing his determination to fight Japan with his remaining naval forces. Hence the 12 on the fountain symbolises his indomitable spirit. During the Japanese invasion, Yi achieved a remarkable 23 victories without losing a single battle. Hence the number 23 was included in the name of the fountain.

Detailed model of one of the admiral’s ship at the base of the monument.

Looking to the north, we can see the golden statue of a seated King Sejong with the Gyeongbokgung in the background. I noticed the good feng shui of the palace from this picture. Tall mountains in the back and north of the palace, protecting it from the cold north wind and a flat open space with flowing stream of Cheongye in the front.

Gwanghwamun – entrance to Gyeongbokgung.

King Sejong was the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He is well known for the Korean “alphabets” (Hangeul) used in current Korean writing.

Hangeul - 28 letter Korean alphabets at the base of the King’s statue. Before that, Korean people used Hanja (Chinese characters).

King Sejong was quite a smart man and sponsored numerous scientific inventions.   Inventions, during his reign, such as a sundial, rain gauge and celestial globe were also displayed.

Celestial globe.

Sundial.

This marked the end of our city walking tour which started at the Bukchon Hanok Village, then Insadong and following the Cheongyecheon stream to Cheongye Plaza and then finally here at Gwanghwamun Square.

From here, we went underground to the Gwanghwamun Station for our trip back to Myeongdong for dinner.

Saw this Haechi - on way to  Gwanghwamun Station.

Cut-out figure of Korean actor from the drama series “Iris”, with scenes shot at Gwanghwamun Square.