This plaque was hung at Jeukjodang Hall of Gyeongungung Palace (present-day Deoksugung Palace). 

Originally the residence of Prince Wolsan (1454-1488), the older brother of King Seongjong (r. 1457-1494), amid the Imjin War (1592-1598), the Japanese invasions of Korea, King Seonjo (r. 1567-1608) used this place as a temporary palace. It was later named ‘Gyeongungung’ by King Gwanghaegun (r. 1608-1623) in 1611. The name changed to ‘Deoksugung’ in 1907 when Emperor Gojong (r. 1863-1907) handed over the throne to his son, Emperor Sunjong.

The calligraphy on this plaque reads “慶運宮” (‘gyeongungung’ meaning “Gyeongun Palace”); it is the handwriting of Emperor Gojong. 

In the face of constant pressure by external world powers after opening Joseon’s ports to overseas states in 1876, Queen Myeongseong, as a reliable assistor to her husband King Gojong, eagerly sought to assert the state sovereignty. However, Japan, which was rapidly growing its influence in Korea at this time, blatantly assassinated her in 1895 to neutralize her political influence. 

Following the Queen's assassination, Gojong fled to the Russian legation in 1896 to avoid the increasing threat to his life; he was there until February 1897. During his stay in the legation, the King ordered the buildings of Gyeongungung Palace to be extensively repaired and newly constructed to return there; the palace had as its neighborhood multiple foreign legations, which he thought to be geopolitically ideal to hold Japan in check. It was soon after Gojong came to the palace that he proclaimed the founding of the Korean Empire and also declared himself as emperor. 

The Korean Empire, however, lost its sovereignty under the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty in 1910. The emperor resided in the palace even after being deposed in 1907 until passing away in 1919.