Goryeo Palace Site

In 1232 the Goryeo court left Gaegyeong and moved to Ganghwa, and for thirty-eight years the island was the capital of Korea - the choice was geographic, since the channel between the island and the mainland has ferocious tidal currents that made it defensible. The palace was built on a slope in what is now Ganghwa town, laid out to echo the old capital, and it was dismantled when the court returned in 1270. What survives is the site rather than the buildings: terraced ground, foundation stones, and a set of later Joseon structures put up on the same platform - Oegyujanggak, a reconstruction of the royal library annexe whose books were taken to France in the nineteenth century and returned on long-term loan in 2011, along with a magistrate's hall and a bell pavilion. It takes an hour and it is best read as ground rather than architecture. The period is also when the first Tripitaka woodblocks were carved on this island.

What you actually see

• The terraced platform - the palace ground and foundation stones.
• Oegyujanggak - the reconstructed royal library annexe.
• The Joseon buildings - the magistrate's hall and bell pavilion.
• The town view - Ganghwa from the slope.

When to go

April to June and October to November. An hour covers it. Closed on Mondays. It pairs with the island's other historic sites.

Honest expectations

Nothing of the Goryeo palace stands - this is terraced ground with later buildings on it, and it needs some reading to mean much. Interpretation on site is thin.

Nearby

Ganghwa's dolmen site and Jeondeungsa are on the island; the town market is a short walk.