The King's Courtyard

This space is known as the King's Courtyard because it served as the entrance to the royal living quarters. Black and white marble forms an elaborate pattern across the floor, and the ground floor of the building facing you — what the French call the "zero floor," one level below what's typically called the first floor elsewhere — was the king's bedroom. The surrounding wings were used by the royal family and the courtiers closest to the king.

Turn your back on the king's bedroom and look the other way, and you'll see the golden King's Gate in the distance. This direction faces east, toward the rising sun, and the Sun King Louis XIV greeted each morning looking out through this very gate — which is exactly why it couldn't be ordinary. The entire length of the railing is covered in gold leaf; a 2008 restoration alone used 100,000 sheets of 24-karat gold leaf and cost more than 7 billion won. The sheer opulence, starting right at the entrance, was meant to overwhelm courtiers and outsiders alike and reinforce the idea that Louis XIV was practically divine. Scattered across the building's facade are statues drawn from classical mythology and personifications of virtue — all placed there to visually glorify the king's absolute power and glory.