Harmony with Nature, is how can I described what I have seen & felt in the Secret Garden in Seoul, South Korea.From the start,one of the things that I´ve looked forward to experience while visiting South Korea aside from eating authentic Korean BBQ was seeing it´s cultural heritages, namely the Palaces where Joseon Dynasty made it in history.It´s a weird feeling when I couldn´t even understand a word or read any of Hangul characters, but then it just adds up to Seoul´s enigma to me. I am totally enamored by it´s cultural palaces, walls, traditional Hanok villages ,Korean food and the Joseon dynasty. I have watched lots of Korean dramas set in these beautiful Joseon Era palaces and gardens and the more I see them, the more I wished to see them all for real.

I couldn´t believe myself that I was actually walking through the same paths where Kings and Queens once strolled since 1600s -1800s. It was really an amazing feeling.Sitting in the bench where I see a panorama of pavillions, giant trees, ponds, and pure nature is such a pure joy.It is a lovely garden in all sense. The beauty is authentic and it is preserved so well.The landscape of the garden fits perfectly with the natural topography of the area, so artificial designs were minimal.

The marvel of traveling gives the chance to experience the real thing once you actually see the places by your own eyes.To be there exactly where you actually dreamed of ,to step on the exact foothpath, to feel the leaves, hear the water gushing from the river and those unknown animal chirping and sounds, of actually experiencing another culture.But sometimes, expectations surpasses the reality.

In this garden where it´surrounded with lot´s of nature,green lush plants and trees, I felt peace, calm and happy.It´s all worth the long distance of travel.I just wished that the weather could be more milder. But since we visited in the summer months of August, also a peak tourist season, it was a bit hectic and rainy.This Palace garden is situated in the heart of Seoul but it is so serene here, at least I haven´t heard of honking cars and busy vendors. Of course it´s a major tourist magnet but then the place itself exudes so much history and rich culture of the Korean people. I said to myself, “So this is what they´ve called the Secret Garden”.

The focal point where the Kings and royalties spend their times to relax. Cultural places in Seoul like Changdeokgung Palace is a sight to behold, no touristic displays, no vendors, no stalls, no loud music, no restaurants so the place were actually kept as it is. Since this place can only be accessed through a guided tour, we appreciated the informations we´ve learned about this place.It was really helpful understanding the history.The palaces, and small pavillions are all empty, no old furnishings,it is totally bare, as it is. Our guide told us that all of the contents of the buildings were gathered and now displayed in the Korean cultural Museum.I find it logical since most of the structures are made of wood and considering the weather, it is undeniably outstanding that proper restorations were done to preserve the palace grounds and the secret garden.

We explored this garden while visiting another palace worthy of mentioning, the Changdeokgung Palace. It was a rainy day in Seoul but luckily, it cleared in the afternoon ,allowing us to finally enjoy strolling around. At first I thought I wouldn´t be able to see the rest of the palace because one, it is huge, it requires lots of walking outside with an umbrella, and my daughter find it boring. She said that at least Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna has something for children. No playgrounds, no shops, just the palace and a huge garden.I´ve kinda agree with her but then the enigma of this place is really something special.

The place itself is so tranquil that I could sit here admiring the “zen” feeling it evokes. The architecture is so unique.The details, colors, and the engravings are very creative.I kinda like the “Japsang“, the animal sculptures which embodies the roof detail of the Palace.The buildings, or the traditional palace is totally different from the lavish European Palaces I have seen before. One thing, nature coexists here making the history so rich.I could see lots of japanese infuence in this place sans the Pagodas. Our guide narrates that most of the surrounding trees were even over hundreds years of age.The pond full of lotus plants is quite mesmerizing.It made me dream of how would this place looked in Autumn where the Korean maple trees turnes into colorful shades.Or in winter where everything is white and covered in snow.

Throughout the tour, I was wondering why is it called “the secret garden“? What secret does this place held? This place was a venue for many outdoor activities by Kings and his novelties. During the Joseon Era, kings would join in military exercises here and hold archery competitions.In the pavillions, the royalties would enjoy leisure time, reading and just enjoy blissful time surrounded with nature or probably an escape from the political chaos in the main palace?

I have noticed that in most Korean Palaces that we´ve visited, Lotus plants are always evident. In the secret garden, there´s even this small pavillion in the pond where it symbolizes this plant. Koreans believed that lotus plant purifies dirty water. They bloom actually from dirt which I found amazing.It is an important symbolic figure and traditional religions in Korea.This was quite a new sight for me so I was really captivated by this flower.This garden takes up almost 60 % of the entire area of Changdeokgung Palace. It is really huge and a day is not enough to explore every nooks of this garden.

We walked further to explore more of the garden and more traditional Korean houses, gates and pavilions. At the end, we decided to just sit there on the wooden floor, gazing and feeling full of new insights about this culture. Korean palaces and history is so interesting that it leaves me more wanting to learn.

Until then, Tschüss!