#deoksugung

덕수궁 석조전 (제 1부)

After 15 months of gradual but constant commitment, I finally completed this project!

Central Hall (중앙홀)

The main hall is a two-story structure space. It is the first space to enter when viewing. 

VIP Waiting Room (귀빈 대기실)

This is the right-side hall. It's the room visitors move into after touring the central hall. This room, where guests waited to be announced to the emperor, has the same interior design as the central hall, except it lacks decorative pillars. The left door is a fake designed to strictly adhere to the English neoclassical interior style characterized by strict symmetry and opens to reveal only a blank wall.

Visitors typically waited for the emperor's audience while enjoying biscuits, snacks, champagne, and so on, served by the royal household.

The waiting room has a console table, a regular table, a round table, four chairs, an armchair, and a display cabinet. Among these, the armchair and display cabinet are original pieces, while the rest are replicas recreated based on a catalogue commissioned from Maple Furniture Company at the time of construction.

Reception Room (접견실)

This is a room located above the central hall, and it is the largest room on the first floor. It is where the emperor held audiences.

Audiences involved the emperor being approached, bowing three times in greeting, and then departing backwards, which was quite bewildering and challenging for foreign envoys.

The most expensive item in the reception room was imported European wall mirrors. The Palace of Versailles in France had a Hall of Mirrors at its centre, as mirrors were incredibly expensive and extravagant luxury items of the time. Decorating the palace, the centre of both the court and France, with mirrors was a sophisticated political manoeuvre to diminish the pride of foreign envoys and secure France's diplomatic dominance by showcasing a grand gallery of mirrors. Mirrors were costly because only skilled artisans from Venice could produce them, and there are stories of considerable efforts made by France to acquire this technology. The mirrors in the Seokjojeon Hall reception room were imported directly from Europe, cut into decorative shapes, and transported very carefully over an extended period.

The ceiling in this space is lower compared to others, likely due to its settling during the Korean War.

The Small Dining Room (소식당)

The Small Dining Room is located to the left of the reception room. While it appears to have been a gathering place for the royal family for meals, it was actually a room where a few select guests had simple meals. Compared to the main dining hall, the dining table here is smaller, accommodating up to about 5 people at most. In one corner of the room, there is a cabinet for storing spoons, knives, and forks. The ivory tableware displayed there was reportedly acquired through an auction in England during the restoration period.

This room is unique among the others in its interior finish, featuring panelling made of English oak with a lacquered appearance.

The Grand Dining Room (대식당)

this is not a studyblr post, but i went to [deoksugung] a few days ago and wanted to show it off to the world ✨

2021.03