A Unique Experience in Korea: Seokjojeon at Night

Seoul is home to five palaces and in recent years, each one has become home to unique tours and experiences for locals and visitors alike. Deoksugung is the smallest palace and it’s nighttime experience is likewise targeted towards small groups lending itself to be a private and much more intimate experience.

More importantly, though, it gives you the chance to take in tea or coffee on the terrace at night inside the palace itself. Spoiler alert: it does not disappoint.

The Palace Grounds

The tour starts late in the evening with guides dressed in traditional Korean palace attire from the early 1900’s. Our guide was dressed in a traditional hanbok with pulled back hair like you might see at most other palaces. However the male guides wore more of a European styled guard uniform that is traditionally associated with Japanese colonial rule.

We’ve been to each of Seoul’s palaces countless times, but watching the fading sun sending beams of light and shadow across the walls of Deoksugung never gets old. Because these palace grounds aren’t nearly as large as Gyeongbokgung or Changdeokgung, the grounds tour doesn’t really last longer than 15 minutes or so before we headed to the jewel of the palace grounds, Seokjojeon.

A Gilded Reminder of the Past

Seokjojeon alternated between being an official palace and a temporary residence for royalty throughout the years. Before falling under Japanese occupation, it was the occupied by King Gojong who holds the dubious distinction of being the last King of the Joseon Dynasty as well as the first (and last) Emperor of Korea before abdicating in 1907.

Before he abdicated, he had many western style buildings constructed and equipped with western luxuries in pursuit of modernization, Seokjojeon Hall being one of them. Now, it houses the Daehan Empire History Museum, which has painstakingly recreated the royal estate down to furniture for the king’s sleeping quarters, administration offices, and reception halls for foreign VIPs.

While we thought that the beauty of Seokjojeon lay only in its neoclassical architecture, it was just as breathtaking inside. Each room is home to recreations of original furniture along with original pieces that somehow survived the ravages of history. Everything is an example of the creeping influence of Japanese and western influences in Korea.

The tour ended with a short musical performance in the reception hall. It’s a small excerpt from a musical written about the last emperor of Korea, King Gojong. It’s short and performed for an audience of 15 or less making it a very intimate and memorable performance.

Coffee and Tea Fit for a King

The real highlight of the experience is having coffee and tea on the terrace. Seokjojeon is two floors and the outer terrace of the second floor offers a view overlooking the palace grounds. Emperor Gojong was a known coffee lover and would often enjoy coffee and desserts out on that very terrace. So in a way, we were actually receiving the royal treatment.

The lights of Deoksugung really accentuate all the saturated colors of the palace. As far as cafes go, this might be the best cafe with a view with in the city. And as if that weren’t enough, there was also a live string quartet playing soft classical music while we took in royal desserts with our choice of traditional tea or coffee.

At the end they had a little photobooth area set up for us with some era appropriate props where we could take a photo to commemorate out visit. They even gifted us some lovely coasters with Seokjojeon Hall on them. It really was a one-of-a-kind experience.

All the Details

Where is Seokjojeon at Night?

Seokjojeon, or the Daehan Empire History Museum, is located inside of Deoksugung. Deoksugung is conveniently located across the street from City Hall and is deasily accessible through City Hall Station on subway line no. 2.