Heunghwamun Gate was the main gate of Gyeonghuigung Palace. Its name literally means “to educate the people”. It did not only act as the entrance of the palace, but the king also listened to the difficulties of his people, gave out food to the poor, interrogated the criminals, and released the prisoners at the gate.

After Gyeonghuigung Palace was demolished in the Japanese colonial era, Heunghwamun Gate was removed and used as the main gate of Bakmunsa Temple in 1915. After liberation, it was used as the main gate of the hotel and lost its original role. Eventually, although its original site was already occupied by the Salvation Army Building, it was relocated to its current location and restored to its former state in 1988 through the restoration project.

Heunghwamun Gate, as the main gate of a secondary palace, has revealed the palace's specialty through its appearance. Heunghwamun Gate was built on a single floor, as opposed to the two-story main gates of other palaces. It has four columns in front that support the entire intricately carved wooden structure and tiled roof. There are also three entrances, each between two columns. The central entrance was built with an arrow fence up on top.

Gyeonghuigung Palace initially had more than 100 buildings. All the buildings were either burned down or torn down by several hardships in the past. Although the restoration of Gyeonghuigung Palace began in 1988, only some buildings could have been restored, and currently only three main halls are left. Heunghwamun Gate is one of them. Now let’s find more stories hidden in this secondary palace!