[Jeonju Sago] - Joseon Wangjo Sillok (조선 왕조 실록)

Jeonju Sago wooden building was specially designed and constructed with raised floor to avoid wet when raining and good ventilation. It's now housing copy of Joseon Wangjo Sillok (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty). Before that, these Annals were stored in Seunguisa Temple located in Jeonju castle, then moved to the Jinnammu Pavilion in the rear garden of the temple's guest house. 

Jeonju Sago (전주 사고).

This Jeonju Sago building which holds the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty appears in episode 10 of  “Love in the Moonlight.”, when Ra-on hurts her foot. The Crown Prince becomes jealous when seeing the other eunuchs assisting Ra-on here. He punished Ra-on with a kiss on her cheek as she didn't obey his order. 

Wangjo Sillok Joseon (Chosun Dynasty)

 UNESCO's Memory of the World Registry 

Busy Sagwan (사관) inside Chunchugwan (춘추관).

The guide told us a story... King Sejong ever asked the historian to let him read his Father's Sillok. As at that time, King was not allowed to read or review them, they told King Sejong that if he did so, Sagwan will record it in his Sillok. At the end, King Sejong gave up after listened to that statement. 

Haha... It's kinda funny! I think sagwan really did good job to keep records of the actual details! And I'm amazed by the durability and recycling process of hanji paper...

Procedure on preservation of Sillok and discarding method of Sacho.

Evacuation and Repositories of Sillok.

The original Sillok are kept in the Gyujanggak Archives in Seoul National University, and they're available online for reading. These Sillok were written in classical Chinese even after King Sejong invented Hangul. 

Therefore, I've to wait until they translated them to English or maybe watch more Saeguk dramas, which well-written story lines were based on cultural & historical references from Annals. Though, sometimes they added some fictional characters and situations in "Princess' Man" that made it more dramatic, romantic and spectacular to watch. 

I'm currently watching Gunman in Joseon plotting in Emperor Gojong's reign. However, the Annals of Last Two Emperors (King Gojong and King Sunjong) not included in Joseon Wangjo Sillok because they're written during the Japanese occupation in Korea, which the compilation might have been influenced by Japanese as well as the falsification of historical events.

Related Posts:

[Jeonju] - Evening at Omokdae Pavilion(오목대)

[Jeonju] - Hanbyeokdang Pavilion (한벽당)

[Jeonju] - Cheongyeonru Pavilion (청연루)

[Jeonju] - Gyeonggijeon Main Hall (경기전 정전)

 uzz Korea, Buzz-Korea, Korea

[Jeonju] - Gyeonggijeon Main Hall (경기전 정전)

Though didn't manage to submit full story of Gyeonggijeon in webtoon for 'Korea, My Love' event.  I'll continue to compile the photos in cartoon version for this posting even it took longer time for me to edit them... Hope you like and enjoy it~^^

Do you know that every last Wednesday of the month is designated as It's Cultural day in Korea? People can have free or discounted admissions to palaces, museums, national theaters, and participated private cultural institutions or galleries. 

Coincidentally, we visited this Historical Site no. 339, Gyeonggijeon Shrine on Cultural Day. Besides free admission, we also enjoyed awesome free English guided tour which I want to share here...

Do take note that you need to gather in front of Hongsalmun at 11:00 am to join that free English tour. 

Gyeonggijeon means palace built on auspicious ground. 

It's built in 1410 (10th year of Taejong) to enshrine the royal portrait of 

his father King Taejo (the founder of Joseon Dynasty). 

The guide explained to us why there is  red gate with no door standing there. We followed here as she's walking through this gate. Then, she congratulated and praised us that we all manage to pass through this gate! ㅎㅎ

Then, we stopped again under this tree and listen to interesting things about this 'naked tree' ...

Baerong Tree: "Please stop tickling me~!"

'Road of God (신도)'

According to oriental concept... the sun rise in the East,  and set in 

the West, you should go in from the right and come out from left side. 

We're blocked by this small red fence, and the guide asked us to turn right to go inside after explaining the reason behind it. We didn't guess correctly when she asked to guess what were the two ornaments on the middle of the roof. Do you want to make a guess? No... no, not coffee beans! They're tortoises~! 

This main hall is where the portrait of King Taejo enshrined. This place has hidden cultural code the power of chief gatekeeper might have been great. The carpenter put these two tortoises on the roof for its eternity. It's believed that they prevented this wooden building safe from burnt down during Japanese invasion.

Another hidden code is at the main entrance of Gyeonggijeon on the roadside. On the 'Hamabi' tortoise monument, it's written '至此皆下馬雜人毋得入' meaning: 'Anyone who arrives here should dismount from their horse disregard of their classes and social position, and outsiders are forbidden from entering'.

Photo: Source

In front of King Taejo's portrait, we're asked to count the claws on the king's robe (곤룡포 = Gollyongpo). The guide told us that you can know the position from their robes. Five-clawed dragon (오조룡보 ohjoeryongbo) emblem is for the King, the Crown Prince has four-clawed dragon (사조룡보 sajoeryongbo), while three-clawed dragon (삼조룡보 samjoeryongbo) for the eldest son of the Crown Prince. 

Walking from main hall to Jeonju Sago, we passed this beautiful bamboo garden and Maehwa tree...

Gyeonggjeon featured in movie 'Masquerade', 'My Way', and drama 'Painter of the Wind'.

"Masquerade" filming location.

This movie is an interpretation of the missing 15 days in the Annals of Joseon Dynasty during Gwanghae's reign—designated by his 1616 journal entry, "One must not record that which he wishes to hide."

It's also major filming site of “Love in the Moonlight,” This lush bamboo grove inside the grounds of the shrine appeared in the first episode of the drama, when Ra-on entered the palace as a eunuch, meets the Crown Prince during her attempt to run away.

'Precious' Maehwa (매화나무) and

Four Gentlemen Plants (사군자)...

Related Posts:

[Jeonju Sago] - Joseon Wangjo Sillok (조선 왕조 실록)

[Gyeonggijeon] - Royal Portrait Museum (어진박물관) 

[Jeonju] - Evening at Omokdae Pavilion(오목대)

[Jeonju] - Hanbyeokdang Pavilion (한벽당)

"buzz KOREA", "buzz-Korea", "buzz Korea", "Korea" 

[Jeonju] - Cheongyeonru Pavilion (청연루)

"buzz KOREA", "buzz-Korea", "buzz Korea", "Korea" 

[Jeonju] - Hanbyeokdang Pavilion (한벽당)

[Jeonju] - Evening at Omokdae (오목대) Pavilion

Panoramic view of Jeonju Hanok Village from Omokdae.

"buzz KOREA", "buzz-Korea", "buzz Korea", "Korea"