Day 3

To start the day we took a tour of CA Landscape Design Firm and got to hear about the planning that took place to create the Gwanghwamun Square and Cheonggyecheon Park. There is a bigger emphasis on symbolism in the architecture here than I originally thought. They have a way of both showing the future while honoring the past with a lot of there project which whilst not taking away from the beauty or functionality of these places.

The Cheonggyecheon Park was once a stretch of land that was turned into a shanty town housing many impoverished citizens and immigrants. As a way of honoring and recognizing this period of time and the struggles that meant citizens were forced into due to the countries instability at the time it was decided to give the river back to the people and to make it a place for the community to come together and enjoy some respite within the bustling city.

Gwanghwamun Square was one of the most impressive sights when it came to history and symbolism. The square was made to resemble the kings street with how it expands out from the center of the palace. They’ve placed lots of hidden details such as Korean characters and messages in the ground or on benches. The triangle, circle, and square are prevalent throughout the plaza with each have symbolic meaning. The circle stands for the sky, square stands for the ground and the triangle represents man. There are 2 massive statues place through the plaza. One depicts Admiral Yi Sun-sin Who was a famous navy admiral and the other is King Sejong the Great. My favorite part was the stones you walk on. There is an array of 9 unique stones that, when put together, come across as every stone in the entire square being uniquely shaped.

I give CA Landscape Design Firms hospitality and all there work on Gwanghwamun Square and Cheonggyecheon park a 10/10