Daehanmun Gate, Deoksugung Palace

Before you is Daehanmun, the main gate of Deoksugung. It is the smallest palace in Seoul, yet it witnessed the last and most dramatic chapter of the Korean monarchy.

1An emergency palace

Deoksugung, then called Gyeongungung, served as a temporary palace after the Imjin War. It returned to the spotlight in 1897, when King Gojong moved here, surrounded by foreign legations he believed could protect him, and proclaimed the Korean Empire. It did not last: in 1907 Japan forced him to abdicate, and in 1910 it annexed the country. Gojong went on living in this palace, now stripped of power.

2The death of the emperor

Gojong died here suddenly on 21 January 1919. A rumour quickly swept the city that he had been poisoned on the orders of the Japanese authorities. It has never been proven, but those suspicions fed the anger that erupted six weeks later, on 1 March, in the great independence movement.

3The riddle of the name

The gate used to be called Daeanmun, "great peace". In 1906, during repairs, it was renamed Daehanmun, and the court annals don't say why.

A story published in a magazine in 1933 claims the change was made because the character 安 contains the sign for "woman" under a roof, considered a bad omen.

It's a popular play on words, not a documented explanation. The gate has also moved: in 1914 and again in 1970 it was shifted inwards as the street was widened.

4What to look for

• The signboard 大漢門 above the central opening.
• The royal guard, if you catch the changing of the guard that is usually held here.
• The stone wall running off to the left: that's the next stop.