Stories of Joseon and European Palaces
Walk through the King's space, a symbol of absolute power!

This book compares and explains three palaces in Korea and three palaces in Europe, focusing on the fact that palace architecture in Joseon and Europe was built to strengthen the legitimacy of the royal authority at the time.
Rather than just admiring the splendid exterior of the palace, you can see the true nature of the palace through the stories of the king and power contained within its architecture.
We can see how the palace, which was both the king's living space and political space, was implemented in Joseon and Europe according to royal authority.
It allows us to glimpse the architectural characteristics of both the East and the West.

To compare the palaces of Joseon and Europe, we selected approximately six palaces.
The palaces of Joseon are Gyeongbokgung Palace, Changdeokgung Palace, and Changgyeonggung Palace, and the palaces of Europe are the Louvre Palace in France, the Palace of Versailles, and the Winter Palace in Russia.
Gyeongbokgung Palace, Changdeokgung Palace, and Changgyeonggung Palace were all built immediately after the founding of the Joseon Dynasty, allowing us to glimpse the early days of the Joseon Dynasty.
Meanwhile, the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles in France are palaces from the Bourbon Dynasty.
What kind of living conditions did the Bourbon dynasty of France, the most powerful monarchy in Western Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries, live in? We'll explore this through the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles.
--- pp.26-27

It is said that in the Goryeo Dynasty, in addition to the capital city of Gaeseong, there were also three capitals, Seogyeong, Donggyeong, and Namgyeong, where the king stayed for several months each year.
France is in a similar situation, with the king ruling in the Loire and Fontainebleau regions rather than Paris.
Stayed at the blower etc.
This was because invasions by foreign tribes were frequent and the royal authority was weak.
Then, in the 14th century, as the invasions of foreign tribes disappeared and the royal power became stable, they returned to the capital, Paris, and settled there.
The Louvre Palace, which was built a long time ago and resembled a medieval castle, felt cramped and uncomfortable, so it underwent extensive expansion and renovation over the course of 30 years.
It is similar to how, after Yi Seong-gye founded the Joseon Dynasty, he chose only one capital, Hanyang, and immediately built the new Gyeongbokgung Palace.
--- p.117

Looking back, the Louvre in France, the Palace of Versailles and the Winter Palace in Russia have similar corners.
First of all, the Louvre and Versailles were built by Louis XIV of the Bourbon dynasty in the 17th century when he established an absolute monarchy.
Following this, in the 18th century, Peter the Great of the Romanov Dynasty of Russia moved the capital and laid the foundation for the construction of the Winter Palace as he achieved the modernization of Russia.
What Louis XIV and Peter the Great had in common was that they ascended to the throne at a young age, but because royal power was weak at the time, they lived in the countryside for a while.
Perhaps because of that experience, when time passed and I became a royal family, I built Versailles and St. Petersburg.
All the nobility had to leave Paris and Moscow and live here, and the Palace of Versailles and the Winter Palace were built at the heart of the new capital.

--- pp.188-189