Spend the Summer at the Royal Palace

An event titled “Spending the Summer at the Royal Palace” is being held from July 24 through August 31 at Changgyeonggung Palace. Let me introduce it to you.

Upon entering the palace you will be able to see a banner in front of euhgoo (a stream flowing from a royal place) that traverses the palace. 

The clear stream euhgoo flows along Geumcheon path with pleasant, gurgling sounds, and you can take a rest in the shades drawn by the lush trees planted along the path. The path is also adorned with a variety of aquatic plants such as lotuses and water lilies as well as twenty-some photographs.

<Euhgoo flowing along Geumcheon path>

You can spot friends, lovers, families here and there, as well as foreigners visiting Korea. There are kids on a field-trip with the assignment to observe water lilies and hyacinths. There are members of a photography club on an outing. The various aquatic plants with their beautiful features and purifying qualities grab people’s attention for a long time.

On the first day of the event, water lettuces known for their pollutant-fighting, purifying capacity were given out as a souvenir. 

In the olden times, there were purported to be 8 ways of fighting the heat of the summer. According to Jeong Yak-Yong, a leading Korean philosopher in the late Joseon Dynasty, the 8 ways were :

1) Playing Baduk sitting on a cool bamboo mat
2) Practicing archery on a platform of pine trees
3) Playing the traditional Korean game of Tuho (throwing arrows into a jar)
4) Riding swings in the shade of a zelkova tree
5) Listening to the cry of cicadas in the forest
6) Writing poems on a rainy day
7) Washing feet in the moonlit night

How about trying a little vacation at Changgyeonggung palace, hmm?
Give it a try!