The Secret Garden are the private gardens within the grounds of Changdeokgung palace. They were secret because only the emporer and his invited guests had access to them - the general public was not allowed.
Even now for the tour, you are not allowed to just enter and traipse around at will. You can only go in with a guide. The Secret Garden was very large, more of an estate than a garden!
The little lake pictured below was man-made. You can see a couple of small buildings around it that housed a library and other places the emporer could go to meet with intellectuals and contemplate astronomy, poetry, etc. I'm serious. This is the kind of stuff they liked to do!
Look at the amazing fall leaves!! I was very lucky to be there during such a beautiful time, although I'm sure spring would be equally spectacular!
The library and study pavilions pictured above were near the entrance and close to the main palace complex. As we walked further back, the Gardens were more private and isolated. The pavilions also took more of this form - just a small sitting space. Again, these were places the emporer could go alone to read or write poetry. Or perhaps to entertain one or two friends or his mistress.
Some more amazing photos of the general fall spendour!
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