My first day in Seoul, we had a tour of Changdeokgung Palace and I was enamored by the statues of funny little mythical animals. Our guide told us about them as more of an aside than anything. The next day we went to a bookstore and I was delighted to find a children’s book about the various creature statues at Gyeongbokgung Palace. The book is 괴물들이 사는 궁궐 by Gulgrim Mudol. The title roughly translates to A Palace Inhabited by Monsters and is about all the good and talented monsters living in the palace and how they face off against the naughty monster that wasn’t invited to live there. After reading the book (with a lot of help from a translation app), I knew I had to go to Gyeongbokgung Palace and find them for myself. I think I succeeded in finding almost all of them!
Our guide referred to all the statues as “haechi” but they seem to each have their own name and purpose.
Haechi stands at the main gate and is said to judge good and evil and protect against fire monsters.
Hyeonmu stands on the northern side of the main palace, has water energy, and protects the northern sky.
Cheongnyong stands on the eastern side of the main palace, can shapeshift, and protects the eastern sky.
Jujak stands on the southern side of the main palace, controls fire, and protects the southern sky.
Baekho stands on the western side of the main palace, repels magical energy, and protects the western sky.
Cheonrok stands at the bridge before the main palace and looks into the stream. He purifies those who enter by getting rid of bad energy and evil spirits.
Bonghwang, the pair of phoenixes, can be seen painted in the ceiling of the gate as well as carved onto the steps to the main palace in the position of the King’s Road. They represent balance (as in yin and yang) and bring luck and happiness.
Japsang, a variety of miscellaneous creatures, stand along the corners of the roofs. They help keep the buildings comfortable.
The longer you wander around the palace the more statues you find. Some look more like real animals, while others are definitely imaginary. It was really fun to be able to search for them like a scavenger hunt and learn how their purpose and placement are all tied together.
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