Here we have the Gyeonggeundang and Okcheopdang Halls of the Office of the Royal Genealogy. If you see two buildings that look different from the current atmosphere of Seoul, you're in the right place. The larger building is Gyeonggeundang Hall, and the smaller one is Okcheopdang Hall. These two structures were constructed during a time when the concept of modernization was under consideration, although they may not perfectly align with the modernization movement.

, Gyeonggeundang and Okcheopdang Halls together are called the Office of the Royal Genealogy. The Office of the Royal Genealogy is a government office responsible for tasks related to the descendants of the royal family. In 1866, Heungseon Daewongun significantly expanded the Office of the Royal Genealogy. At that time, the Office of the Royal Genealogy was an extravagant office with over 300 Kan. It's hard for me to understand why they built such a grand office for the royal descendants. Even if it was to enhance the authority of the royal family, was it necessary to invest such enormous resources and effort?
However, this building also underwent unintended changes. In 1981, it was decided to build a tennis court for the Security Command here, so the Office of the Royal Genealogy that remained was moved to the Jeongdok Library. Yes, that's the place we just explored. Therefore, the buildings stood in the garden of Jeongdok Library for a while, not quite fitting in with the surroundings.

And in 2013, they were moved back to their original location, taking on the appearance you see now. Looking at the two buildings, you can tell that Gyeonggeundang Hall is a bit more important. It's larger, the Woldae in front of the building is more extensive, and the building is positioned more prominently. Oh, it's a small thing, but there's a corridor connecting the two buildings, giving us a glimpse of what the administrative offices looked like back then. When I worked in administration, the office buildings were somewhat similar.

Even within the same building, we can discuss modernization or maintaining the old appearance.

Now, let's move on to the next location. We'll need to take a bit of a walk this time. Follow the path east of Gyeongbokgung Palace towards Samcheong-dong. Once you find the Korea Banking Institute, look for the Chinese-style building inside. Our destination is the Foundry of Joseon-Dynasty Arsenal.