Gyongseong Court Palace

As it is typical for Agayan architecture, most of the Outer Palace buildings as well as the Chrysanthemum Palace, Peony Palace, Red Lotus Palace, and Plum Blossom Shrine are built in yellow sandstone with intricate fassades, bigger and smaller balconies and oriels, and central courtyards. The interiors are heavily decorated with murals and decorative tiles, often with floral motifs.   The small courtyard palaces are early iterations of the Neo Yashidal Palatial style and are built from marble and zhennan wood. Their colourful exterior is especially visually striking.  

Palace Layout

The whole palace complex can be split into two major parts: the Inner and the Outer Palace, with the Inner Palace being home to the Royal Family and the Outer Palace acting out the governmental aspect of court life.      

Outer Palace

  The Outer Palace features two main sections, the Eastern section, which is dedicated to the six ministries, diplomats, and the Royal Guard, and the central section with the Throne Hall, library, study hall and similar amenities. Parades, banquets, and officer exams also take place in the Outer Palace.  

The Six Ministries

The ministries each have a building framing the central axis of the palace complex with three on either side. The Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of War are located on the right in front of the garrison, whereas the Ministry of Rites, Ministry of Revenue, and Ministry of Works are located on the left in front of the Diplomat Quaters.  

Red Camellia Garrison

The garrison can host about 1000 guards and features amenities such as weapon chambers, training grounds, as well as a shooting range and the palace prison.  

Diplomat Quaters

The Diplomat Quaters are an array of eight courtyard palaces for foreign dignitaries and a central small garden for leasure. The Diplomat Quaters are managed by the Ministry of Rites.  

Throne Hall

The Throne Hall is the central feature of the Court Palace and is the first building directly on the central axis of the palace complex. Both the interior and the exterior are decorated intricately, a true demonstration of Yashidal wealth and craftmanship.  

Chancellary

The Chancellary is a building complex with the expressed purpose of the housekeeping of the palace and the sleeping quarters of servants.  

Secretary

The Secretary is the office facilities of the Royal Secretariat and the historians. The court records are kept here as well as the annals.  

Library Pavillion

The Palace Library is home to an estimate of 50,000 books on various topics such as history, literature and languages, art, music, and the sciences as well as several work spaces for studying.  

Osmanthus Pavillion

The Study Pavillion is where the royal lectures are held and frequently hosts scholastic discussions on various topics. It is also the assembly hall for the The High Table.  

Art Quarters

The Art Quarters is a garden complex with four pavillions for entertainment. It frequently hosts garden banquets in the summer and can be used by foreign diplomats, courtiers, and the royal family alike.  

Stables & Stud

The Royal Stables and Stud can host up to 60 horses comfortably and features training grounds for agility training and horseback combat.  

Inner Palace

  The Inner Palace is the main dwelling of the Yashidal royal family and consists of the Regent's palace, the Crown Prince's palace, the palace for the royal spouse as well as six small palaces including the Queen Dowanger quaters, the Ancestral Shrine, the palace apothecary, the palace kitchen as well as the vast palace garden.  

Chrysanthemum Palace

The Chrysanthemum Palace is home to the King/Queen Regent of Yashida and lies on the central axis of the Gyongseong Court Palace.  

Red Lotus Palace

The Red Lotus Palace houses the Crown Prince/Princess of Yashida from their 12th birthday on until they are crowned regent. It features several lotus ponds that give the palace its name.  

Peony Palace

The Peony Palace is the residence of the royal spouse and their children until they are old enough to live in their own palace. Just as the Chrysanthemum Palace, the Peony Palace lies on the central axis of the palace complex.  

Carnation Palace

The Carnation Palace is the first one of the six smaller courtyard palaces in the Inner Palace and traditionally hosts the King or Queen Dowanger. This smaller courtyard palace consists of four buildings with a small courtyard garden in the middle of them with carnations planted throughout. The Western hall is for the reception of guests while the other three buildings are dedicated for private use.  

Wisteria Palace

The Wisteria Palace is the second palace dedicated to the extended royal family. Just as the Carnation Palace, it also is a courtyard palace consisting of four buildings and a small courtyard garden in the middle. Of note is the pergola covered in wisteria, which gives the palace its name.  

Hydrangea Palace

The Hydrangea Palace is the third palace hosting extended royal family and is located directly to the left of the Peony Palace.  

Dahlia Palace

The Dahlia Palace is the first palace located to the right of the Peony Palace and is generally home to the royal family and occasionally is used as residence for royal consorts and their children. Most often however it is home to one of the adult royal princes and princesses.  

Azalea Palace

Similarly to the Dahlia Palace, the Azalea Palace may also be used for royal consorts and their children, although it is rare for a Yashidal regent to have more than one spouse, so it's mostly used as home of one of the adult royal princes and princesses.  

Jasmine Palace

The Jasmine Palace is the last of the six smaller palaces and may occasionally be home to a royal consort but most frequently is used for one of the royal princes and princesses as their adult home.  

Plum Blossom Shrine

The Shrine is the ancestral shrine of the royal family of Yashida and contains an ancestral hall as well as a crypt for all deceased members of the royal family. The complex features an avenue in the middle that is framed by plum trees and red spider lilies.  

Royal Apothecary

The Royal Apothecary features four buildings dedicated towards the medical practice as well as medicinal herb garden and greenhouse with partially quite rare medical plants.  

Palace Kitchen

The Palace Kitchen is a complex that includes a garden, livestock as well as storage facilities to supply the main kitchen of the palace. While each of the courtyard palaces has their own small kitchen, main courses are prepared in the main kitchen.  

The palace was built from 1256-1271, the building site was errected after 2 years of intense planning since the initial capital Yashin was destroyed in an earthquake-induced avalanche in 1254.
King Mengyao decided upon Gyongseong as new capital since he spent his formative years in the West Palace of Gyongseong but deemed it unfit for a court palace. Soon, the east side of the Bailong River looked very attractive to become the new home of the Court Palace complex. It was an ambitious and expensive undertaking, and to appease the population, a public garden was planned surrounding the palace complex with an art gallery in the park.
In 1367 Queen Dai prompted a remodel of the Inner Palace to adjust it to the modern taste, the rennovation work finished in 1370.