Gyeongbokgung Palace

By Juha (Jennifer) Kim

I have lived in many foreign countries, including the Netherlands, England, and more. I was 7 years old when I first went to England. At first, it was hard to understand what people were saying and I struggled to communicate with them. But as time went by, my English got better and better. I started to use English fluently with my friends. When I came back to Korea, I realized that knowing English was greatly beneficial, no matter where I was. It was easy to do well in my English classes, and I performed well on my English speaking performance evaluation.

I began volunteering at Gyeongbukgung Palace as a commentator. First, I learned about the palace from my teacher, who taught me things about the different buildings, such as Gyeonghuilu, Geunjeongjeon, and Jagyeongjeon. At home, I researched the palace and gathered interesting facts about it. For example, the sun clock, angbuilgu, is a representation of the round earth and measures the time of day according to the position of the sun. Based on what I learned, I wrote a script, which my teacher helped me revise and later memorize.

When I had finally memorized the script, I began showing foreigners around the palace, explaining the history of the palace. I began by explaining the gates, which are called Gwanghwamun Gate and Heungnyemun Gates, which are hollow to allow a carriage to pass. When we enter the palace, I point out the floor, which is very bumpy because it is finished with stones, known as baksuk. These stones allow water to seep into the soil during periods of heavy rain. Additionally, the uneven stones reduce the glare of direct sunlight. Deeper into Gyeonbukgung, there is Gyeonghoeru. It is surrounded by a lake and is made to greet foreign envoys. After my Volunteer work, I thought it would be nice to explain Gyeongbokgung Palace to my Foreign friends when they visit Korea later on. Overall, my experience volunteering at Gyeongbokgung Palace has taught me a lot about Korean history, while also enabling me to meet and practice English with a variety of people from all over the world.