Changyeong Palace brings its history to life through smartphone audio guides
Summary
The Changyeong Palace Management Office launched a smartphone audio guide at the palace Thursday in partnership with Shinhan Bank. Visitors can scan QR codes at Honghwamun and other points around the grounds to hear commentary in four languages and access sign-language videos. The guide combines explanations of the palace’s history and architecture with dramatized historical accounts, letting visitors explore at their own pace during permitted hours and along designated routes. The Korea Heritage Service said it would continue working with private organizations to expand access to heritage sites.
Key Facts
- The Changyeong Palace Management Office is part of the Korea Heritage Service’s Royal Palaces and Tombs Center.
- The audio commentary is available in Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese through Shinhan Bank’s Beautiful Shinhan website.
- Professional voice actors and actors Kim Young-min and Kim Hyun-joo recorded the historical narratives.
- Visitors can scan QR codes at Honghwamun, the palace’s main gate, and at major points along the grounds.
- The service includes sign-language videos for visitors with hearing disabilities.
Visitors dressed in hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) explore Changyeong Palace's Gyeongchunjeon Hall in Jongno District, Seoul, Oct. 7. Yonhap
Visitors to Changyeong Palace can now explore its royal history through their smartphones, with a new audio guide offering stories of the historic site in multiple languages and making its cultural heritage more accessible.
The Changyeong Palace Management Office, part of the Korea Heritage Service’s Royal Palaces and Tombs Center, launched the service Thursday in partnership with Shinhan Bank, a corporate supporter of cultural heritage preservation.
Visitors can access the guide by scanning QR codes on information boards at Honghwamun, the palace’s main gate, and at major points along the grounds.
The codes connect users to Shinhan Bank’s Beautiful Shinhan website, where audio commentary is available in Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese, alongside sign-language videos for visitors with hearing disabilities.
The service combines basic explanations of the palace’s history and architecture with dramatized accounts of historical events, offering visitors a more engaging way to understand the site.
Professional voice actors, along with actors Kim Young-min and Kim Hyun-joo, lend their voices to the recordings, adding character and atmosphere to the historical narratives.
Visitors can listen at their own pace and choose when and where to access the commentary, provided they remain within permitted visiting hours and designated routes.
The initiative is intended to help domestic and international visitors discover the palace’s historical significance without relying on fixed tour schedules or group guides.
The Korea Heritage Service said it would continue working with private organizations committed to cultural heritage through social contribution programs, with the aim of developing more engaging interpretation services and widening public access to historic sites.
The service reflects an effort to use familiar digital tools to bring cultural heritage closer to visitors while accommodating different language needs and accessibility requirements.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
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