The Examination of the Palace Byeoljeon, the King’s non-ceremonial space, during Japanese Occupation Period to look into inner palace construction of Changdeokgung Palace
The palace byeoljeon(別殿), the King’s non-ceremonial space, were created as a space for the king to comfortably use and for the king to do what he wanted to do. The byeoljeon housed various types of spaces and were flexible in that they could be repurposed to meet the demands of the times. Nevertheless, their characteristic as palatial building created for the King’s convenience has remained unchanged. In this study, we examine the process by which such royal spaces were created by focusing on the reconstruction of the Changdeokgung Huijeongdang during Japanese occupation period, with a view to continuity and the transformation process. The reconstruction of Huijeongdang at the time may be considered along internal and external characteristics. Internally, Huijeongdang connected the symbolism of the king’s space as the palace byeoljeon. Externally, Huijeongdang is characterized by its mixture of traditional and western style, where western style structures were housed within traditional buildings. The plans for the block of Huijeongdang also included the coexistence of traditional building, western style building, and mixture of traditional and western style building. This reflects the characteristic continuity of the byeoljeon as well as the architectural techniques of the time, manifested together within a specific spatial block.