Donhwamun Tilted Even in 1628... Its Roof Comes Off Again 400 Years Later

Korea Heritage Service Begins Major Repair of Changdeokgung Palace's Donhwamun Gate After 29 Years

Project to Remove More Than 15,000 Roof Tiles for the First Time in 29 Years

"Donggwoldo" Shows a Hip-and-Gable Roof; Donhwamun Has a Hipped Roof Today... Restoration Plans Under Review

2-Kilogram Difference per Tile... Columns Leaning and Eaves Cracked

Records Note Eaves Damage as Early as 1628... Restoring the Gate's Former Appearance Also a Challenge

On November 9, at Donhwamun Gate in Changdeokgung Palace, workers wearing safety harnesses removed roof tiles one by one inside a massive temporary steel structure. A long, earthen-colored channel appeared in the middle of the roof, which was densely covered with black tiles. Beneath the dried earth, old timber came into view. Traces of green and red dancheong were also visible in places. It was a moment when the 417-year-old palace’s main gate revealed an interior structure it had concealed for centuries.

Workers are conducting a trench survey at Donhwamun Gate in Changdeokgung Palace, Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 9th, removing roof tiles to inspect the structure underneath. The gate is undergoing major dismantling and repairs for the first time in 29 years, since 1997. Reporter Kim Heeyun

The work that day was a "trench investigation," in which tiles were removed from four or five sections in the center of the roof before the entire roof is dismantled. On the opposite side, where the tiles had already been removed, investigators found compacted lime and a layer of fill soil piled on top of the timber. Each layer was about 8 to 10 centimeters thick. The investigation examines how thick the layers of soil are, how many layers of tiles were laid, and the order in which the timber was placed.

"The primary principle in cultural heritage conservation is preserving the original form. Repairs must be based on clear evidence."

So said Park Sangbok, head of the inspection team overseeing the site. He said the investigation would establish a basis for determining how to restore the gate by examining not only the types, sizes, and weights of the tiles, but also the curve of the roof. Repairing only visible cracks would not be enough to correct distortion throughout the structure.

Donhwamun is undergoing major dismantling and repairs for the first time in 29 years, since 1997, because of problems with the timber structure supporting the roof. The Korea Heritage Service identified structural problems during a special inspection in 2014, and the gate received Grade E, indicating that repairs were needed, for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022. The agency decided to proceed with full-scale repairs after experts concluded that damage to major structural components could affect the entire building.

Aged timber and traces of green and red dancheong are visible where the roof tiles have been removed from Donhwamun Gate at Changdeokgung Palace. The Korea Heritage Service plans to determine the scope of repairs after examining the thickness of the soil inside the roof and the arrangement of the timber. Photo by Kim Heeyoon

At the site, Yoon Gwan-young, an administrative officer in the Restoration and Maintenance Division of the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center at the Korea Heritage Service, began by pointing out the weight of the tiles. The roof contains tiles made at different times. For comparison, a KS-standard tile weighs about 7 kilograms, while an older traditional tile weighs about 5 kilograms. That is a difference of 2 kilograms per tile.

The problem is that the heavier tiles are concentrated on the front and parts of the sides. "There is an imbalance in the load from the roof tiles," Yoon said. "On the first floor, for example, almost all the columns are leaning toward the front."

In fact, the ends of the second-floor crossbeams have sagged, and cracks have appeared in the eaves. Some timber has rotted after water seeped in. There are also signs that wires were used during past repairs to tie the structure together, amid concerns that the corner columns could shift as the eaves pushed outward. Park, the head of the inspection team, also noted that the joints may have loosened as the timber repeatedly dried and contracted over the centuries, and that external vibrations may have worsened the distortion. The exact cause must be established through a phased dismantling investigation.

Interestingly, Donhwamun’s tilt was a problem even during the Joseon Dynasty. According to the "Dictionary of the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty" by the Academy of Korean Studies, a record from 1628, the sixth year of King Injo’s reign, says that repairs were considered because Donhwamun had tilted. The eaves had been damaged and urgently needed repair, but it was reportedly difficult to find timber large enough for the work. In 1721, the first year of King Gyeongjong’s reign, the eastern eaves supports collapsed on both the upper and lower levels and were repaired immediately.

On the 9th, at the public site of the restoration work on Donhwamun Gate at Changdeokgung Palace in Jongno District, Seoul, Yoon Gwanyoung, an administrative officer with the Restoration and Maintenance Division of the Palace and Royal Tombs Center at the Korea Heritage Service, points to photographs showing the gate’s past and present appearance as he explains how the building has changed over time and outlines key plans for its repair and restoration. Korea Heritage Service

Donhwamun was first built in 1412, during the reign of King Taejong. After being destroyed during the Japanese invasions of Korea, it was rebuilt in 1609, during the reign of King Gwanghaegun. The main gate of Changdeokgung Palace, its name means "to enrich and enlighten the people." The palace served as the de facto main royal palace in the late Joseon period, and the gate was its public face. A two-story pavilion with five bays across the front and two along the sides, it is the oldest surviving main gate of a royal palace.

There is also a history of efforts to preserve the scars the gate bears. During Yi Gwal’s Rebellion in 1624, the rebels broke open Donhwamun with an axe and entered through it. It is said that King Injo ordered that the gate not be repaired, so people would not forget the danger they had faced. It has not been confirmed whether the marks remain today, but the account shows that damage to the building was not always regarded as something that had to be erased.

Donhwamun underwent major dismantling and repairs in the late 1970s and again in 1997. This time, all of the roof’s approximately 15,000 tiles are to be removed and replaced with traditional handmade tiles. Existing tiles in good condition will be stored separately, while major timber components, including the crossbeams and eaves, will be repaired and reused wherever possible. The current plan is to dismantle the upper level down to the purlins and the lower level down to the rafters. The scope may be expanded depending on the extent of damage found inside.

Donggwoldo, a National Treasure believed to have been created between 1828 and 1830. The building marked with a red circle in the lower-left corner of the painting is Donhwamun, the main gate of Changdeokgung Palace. In the painting, Donhwamun is depicted with a hip-and-gable roof, with triangular gables on its sides. Today, Donhwamun has a hip roof with all four sides sloping downward. It has not been clearly established whether the court painter made a mistake or the roof's actual design was changed. National Heritage Administration

Timber damage is not the only thing complicating the repairs. Questions also remain about what Donhwamun looked like in different periods.

The 19th-century palace painting "Donggwoldo," displayed in the site viewing room, depicts Donhwamun differently from its present-day appearance. Today, the gate has a hipped roof that slopes on all four sides. In "Donggwoldo," however, it has a hip-and-gable roof, with triangular gables on the sides. Some believe the court painter made a mistake, but investigators are also considering the possibility that the roof actually had a different shape in the past.

Yoon said the plan is to retain the current roof form, since hipped roofs are also visible in photographs from the Japanese colonial period. The reason the gate was depicted with a hip-and-gable roof will be examined further.

Left: A close-up of the chwi-du (roof ornament) on Donhwamun Gate at Changdeokgung Palace, seen in a photograph taken around 1904. Right: The chwi-du as it appears today, photographed at the restoration site on the 9th. In the historical photograph, the chwi-du is fully visible above the roof ridge, but today its lower section is buried under yangseongbareum, the lime-plaster finish on the ridge. The National Heritage Administration is using historical photographs as a reference to consider restoring the chwi-du to its exposed form. Joseon Gojeok Dobo, Photo by Kim Heeyun

The roof ornaments also reflect differences between periods. In a photograph from 1904, the chwid u at the end of the ridge is fully visible, but today about half of it is buried beneath the roof finish. The japsang figurines along the hip ridge numbered five in old photographs, compared with seven today. The side walls, too, are now finished with plaster and red latticework instead of the former hwabang brick walls.

The current design includes plans to fully expose the chwid u and restore the side walls as hwabang brick walls. By contrast, the seven japsang figurines and the dragon-head ornaments are to remain in their current form. Experts will be consulted to determine how far the differences between old photographs and the present-day building should be corrected.

The total project cost is 13.48 billion won. That is up from the 10.5 billion won announced when construction began in 2024, and the target completion date has been pushed back from July 2027 to October 2028. The work schedule was delayed as the temporary structure was enlarged and the design revised to provide adequate workspace and ensure safety. The project could take longer still if unexpected damage is discovered during the full-scale dismantling of the timber next year.

On the 9th, at an open site for the restoration of Donhwamun Gate at Changdeokgung Palace in Jongno-gu, Seoul, site supervisor Cheon Seongyeol explains the roof structure, the dismantling and inspection process, and future restoration plans, with original roof tiles and roof components laid out in front of him. Photo by Kim Heeyoon

The repairs will also include detailed surveying, documentation of the dancheong, and dendrochronological analysis of the timber. A Heritage Building Information Modeling (HBIM) system will be established to manage information on the building’s structure and repair history in three dimensions. A viewing room has been set up inside the temporary structure so the public can watch the repair work. The site will open to the public on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, starting November 25.

The roof with its tiles removed revealed faded dancheong and cracked timber, left as they were. Further investigation is needed to establish which period’s repairs each component came from and how long it has borne the weight of the roof. One of the challenges of repairing national heritage is that not every component can be replaced simply because it is old.

Cheon Seongyeol, the site supervisor and a national heritage repair technician who also took part in the dismantling and repair of Jinnamgwan, a former national treasure, stressed the need for caution when deciding which components to retain and which to replace. "We need to investigate their condition and use data to determine whether a component truly needs to be replaced," he said. "This is not a matter of cost, but of the building’s value."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.