Now we have arrived at Woldae. It is a wide square podium without a roof or other facilities in front of an important building. Its original name was Wolgyeondae, which literally means ”a podium for looking at the moon.” People would typically stand on it while attending major events.

A book named Yeonggeon Diary covered the contents of Gyeongbokgung Palace during its construction. It explained the craving arts on Woldae in detail, which are carved with various animal ornaments. Every animal craved here has some hidden messages. On the edge of Woldae, there is Ssangbeobsu which acts as a guardian deity. It was placed on the Woldae for a long time. Seosu was craved at the top of the rail pillars, which is an imaginary animal to protect the hall from devilish things. Also, the Woldae has stone stairs in four directions, which have a statue of the four gods to guard the four directions. Starting from the south to the north, there are Ceongnyong (the blue dragon), Baekho (the white tiger), Jujak (the phoenix), and Hyeonmu (the black turtle).

There are both real and imaginary animals, symbolizing each direction. Among the 28 animals in the constellations, there are seven sacred animals in each direction. They were placed in each direction, corresponding to the constellations. Although the craved animals were created to protect the hall, Deumeu at the corner of east and west was used to prevent the hall from suffering from the god of fire. Deumeu is a large container used for storing water. The water in Deumeu was to remind people to always be prepared for contingencies rather than firefighting. However, there was another story saying that Deumeu was always filled with water to make the god of fire see its own fearful image reflected on the water and run away from the hall.

At the corner above the Woldae, there is a Samjokjeong, a bronze incense burner. It represents a symbol of royal authority and the hope that people would live comfortably and receive fortune from the heavens. This originated from the old story that King Wu in the Xia Dynasty made nine caldrons from iron gathered from nine provinces across the country.