VOL.69/2024.04

 

[Into the Book ⑨]

The World Grows in the Wait

Seoul Station and Palaces: Walking Tour of Seoul’s Traditional Landmarks

 

2024.04.01

 

 

 

There are a lot of people waiting for something in the (Seoul Station) square.
The homeless uncles, lady ‘Guichani,’ people from churches,
and even the officers from the police district are waiting for something.

 

 

The essence of waiting is to attune yourself to the other person’s time. Waiting for the person’s arrival, the heart, or happiness is all centered on the other person. Park Young-Ran’s novel, The Seoul Kid (Woorischool), captures how two brothers grow through their waiting for Iron Man through the eyes of a boy. Two brothers, aged 10 and 18, await the “Iron Man” who left them behind. When the older brother gets tired of waiting and sets out to find him himself, the younger brother begins to wait for him, too. As the child learns to wait by thinking about his brother’s part-time job at a convenience store, talking to the older girl next-door, and spending time with a homeless woman in Seoul Station Square, the square opens up to the child with a gentle warmth though it may not be large.
The House of Myself (Woorischool), a story about a 17-year-old girl protecting her grandmother’s heritage in a two-story house, and Welcome to the Midnight Store (Changbi), a story about an 18-year-old boy keeping watch over a convenience store in the middle of the night, Park Young-Ran’s stories of hope for children who are often left out of the spotlight, invite readers to visit the beautiful sights of Seoul.

 

 

The symbol of waiting: Seoul Station and Culture Station Seoul 284

 

Where in Korea symbolizes waiting? Many people would say the airport, but Seoul Station Square is a place of waiting where the romance of train travel, meeting, and parting coexist. Countless people meet, part ways, say goodbye, and feel grieved. This is reflected in the square of Seoul Station.
Seoul Station was built as a wooden building on July 8, 1900, and was renamed Gyeongseong Station in 1923. After about 3 years of construction, it was completed in 1925 as a station (now Culture Station Seoul 284) with mixed Renaissance and Baroque style. In 1947, it was renamed Seoul Station and has long been a symbol of the capital city. However, as more space was needed with the opening of KTX, the function of the station was given over to the new Seoul Station next door, and in 2004 it was transformed into Culture Station Seoul 284. So, why not visit Seoul Station’s new and old stations, where the old and the new coexist, and feel the anticipation of the future and the nostalgia of the past?
Currently, Culture Station Seoul 284 hosts thematic exhibitions by season. The “Railway Culture Exhibit,” a collaborative exhibition, will be held in April, and there will also be a tour program for the interior and exterior spaces according to the schedule. The station is closed when there are no exhibitions or events.

 

 

In the book The Seoul Kid, the older brother always lets his younger brother go with him “as far as the square.” Deep down, the younger brother knows he won’t be able to follow, but he wants his older brother to come back soon, so he says childishly, “Next time, I will come with you!” The way the younger brother doesn’t want to see the suddenly enlarged square after his brother disappears overlaps with the people waiting longingly for someone in the Seoul Station, making the audience hope that they will all meet the other person at the end.

 

The neighborhood of Deoksugung Palace, where cultural hotspots are located

 

 

I once went to Deoksugung Palace with my older brother.
From Seoul Station to the place, we walked along the alley behind.

 

 

The path from Seoul Station Square through Sungnyemun to Deoksugung Palace is easy enough for anyone to try, just as the protagonist of The Seoul Kid walked along with his brother. After a 30-minute walk, you will arrive at City Hall Station, which is full of urban cultural attractions, including the Seoul Museum of Art, which is mentioned in the book, as well as Deoksugung Palace and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s Deoksugung Palace Hall.

 

 

If you come out of exit 1 of City Hall Station, you will immediately see the main gate of Deoksugung Palace, and Deoksugung-gil on the left is the famous Deoksugung Stone Wall Street. Every Korean knows the legend that lovers who walk down this street together until the end will eventually break up, and it is even mentioned in the hit song “Gwanghwamoon Lovesong” by Lee Moon-Sae, a representative singer of Korea, with the poignant lyrics, “There are still lovers along the Deoksugung stone wall street, walking together affectionately.”
The Seoul Museum of Art, located at the end of the stone wall street, is a newly constructed building that preserves only the front of the former Supreme Court building, built in the 1920s. There are six exhibition rooms from the 1st to the 3rd floor of the main building, with one being used for permanent exhibitions. The other 5 rooms host various special exhibitions related to contemporary art.

 

 

Originally used as a royal palace by King Gojong of the Daehan Empire (Korean Empire) in 1897, Deoksugung Palace was called “Gyeongungung” at the time. The buildings that remain today include Seokjojeon, Hamnyungjeon, and Joonghwajeon. Seokjojeon (石造殿) is a Western-style stone building built by King Gojong to be used as a bedroom and reception hall. It is currently in operation as the Daehan Empire History Museum. Built in 1938, the west hall of Seokjojeon used to be the royal family’s art gallery, and is now the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art’s Deoksugung Palace Hall, which is currently closed, but will begin exhibitions in May.

 

Two palaces representing the Joseon Dynasty: Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung

 

 

Although the protagonist is only 10 years old, he is a grown-up child who can walk alone from his home near Seoul Station to Namdaemun Market, Gwanghwamun, and Changdeokgung. When his older brother, who went looking for Iron Man, doesn’t return for more than a month, and when the size of his world gradually grows out of proportion to his age, his world expands despite the absence and neglect.
From City Hall Station, where Deoksugung Palace is located, simply walk along the eight-lane road heading north, and you will soon come across the statue of King Sejong the Great and Gwanghwamun. Since Gyeongbokgung Palace is a must-see tourist destination for foreigners visiting Korea, you can easily see crowds of people walking from Gwanghwamun Plaza toward the palace. In particular, many tourists, both foreigners and locals, dress up in hanbok to enjoy Korean culture, as it is free to enter the palace wearing hanbok, with many rental shops nearby.
In particular, the paths leading to Geunjeongjeon and Gyeonghoeru are always crowded with people. Geunjeongjeon was the throne hall of Gyeongbokgung Palace, where state events such as greeting officials, receiving envoys, and court banquets were held. Gyeonghoeru is a pavilion built on a pond, where the king enjoyed large banquets with officials.

 

 

Turning east from Gwanghwamun, walk past Anguk Station and Insadong, and you will find Donhwamun Gate, which is the entrance to Changdeokgung Palace. Changdeokgung is the only one of the Joseon Dynasty’s 5 great palaces to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1997). While most of Gyeongbokgung Palace’s quarters were newly built in the 19th century, many of its buildings, including Injeongjeon Hall, remain in their original form, adding high value to them. Along with Gyeongbokgul Palace, this palace was part of the “two-palace compound system” (兩闕體制) and was a popular space for many kings, as it remained the main palace for more than double the period than Gyeongbokgung Palace. In particular, Nakseonjae is the most recently inhabited palace quarter, as the imperial family of the Daehan Empire lived there until 1989.
While The Seoul Kid is a heartbreaking coming-of-age story of a marginalized child, the spaces in Seoul featured in the book are places that both Seoul residents and visitors to the city will want to visit at least once. Plus, since the book itself showed that the streets are “kid-friendly,” why not take a walking tour of the city this spring?

 

 

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Written by Kim Kyu-Sung