By the late 1960s, Seoul needed to make wider roads with the rapid increase of the population. Seoul City decided to build a four-lane road linking Yulgok-ro with Jongro and a multi-purpose apartment above the road as part of an effort to meet the new demands. That was how the Nakwon Musical Instruments Arcade came...   Read more

  The country’s first modern meteorological observation was carried out at the Incheon Meteorological Observatory founded by Imperial Japan right before the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). However, Imperial Korea (1897-1910) also started making meteorological observations on its own around that time. Meteorological observatories were also erected in Pyongyang and Daegu in 1907. In 1949, the Central...   Read more

  When was the piped water supply started in Seoul? With the opening up of the country towards the end of the 19th century, the population of Hanyang (present-day Seoul) increased rapidly. Small streams and neighborhood wells were mostly contaminated; epidemics spread rapidly. Foreigners in the country, where the piped water supply was not started...   Read more

  Around 1900, Emperor Gojong ordered the overall repair of such buildings as Jeonggwanheon Hall, Dondeokjeon Hall, Guseongheon Hall, Jungmyeongjeon Hall, Hwanbyeokjeong Hall, in Deoksugung Palace. The restoration work took seven years to complete. Jeonggwanheon Hall was built in 1900 at the highest point in the palace grounds as a venue for the king’s entertainment....   Read more

  In 1935, Bumingwan, the country’s first multi-purpose performance venue, was built opposite the Gyeongseong-bu Office (present-day Seoul City Hall). The building, which is currently used as the Seoul City Council building, was an ultra-modern building equipped with heating and air-conditioning systems, a 1,800-seat auditorium, and ancillary halls. The opening of a municipal facility dedicated...   Read more

  Old-fashioned rice cake eateries were opened one after another before and after the Korean War in Nagwon-dong, close to the royal palaces Changdeokgung and Changgyeonggung. Some of them were opened about 100 years ago. These stores are kept busy making rice cakes from several days before the Seollal (lunar New Year’s day) and Chuseok...   Read more

  The Seobuk Academic Society was organized in Nagwon-dong in 1908 by a group of scholars including Ahn Chang-ho, Park Eun-sik, Yu Dong-yeol, and Lee Dong-hui, with the aim of enlightening grassroots people, at a time when the country’s fortunes were in rapid decline. The society and the associated Oseong School were handed over to...   Read more

  This museum was opened in Sogyeok-dong, Jongno-gu opposite Gyeongbokgung Palace in November 2013. It contains part of the buildings of the Jongchinbu (Office for the Keeping of Royal Pedigrees) (Seoul City Tangible Cultural Heritage No. 96), Gyeongseong Medical School, and the Defense Security Command (Registered Cultural Heritage No. 375). The red-brick building which serves...   Read more

  Jungangtang, a two-story public bathhouse, is located among a number of small old stores in Gyedong-gil, Bukchon, Jongno-gu . Initially it was used as a shower room by athletes of Jungang High School. It started business as a public bathhouse in 1969. Although it had more than 150 customers in the early days, it...   Read more

  With the signing of the Korea-France Treaty in 1886, the country’s 100-year-long persecution of Catholics came to an end. Seoul’s three main cathedrals, Yakhyeon Cathedral (1892), Myeongdong Cathedral (1898), and Wonhyoro Cathedral (1902) were all built shortly thereafter. The Gothic-style Wonhyoro Cathedral (or Youngsan Catholic Seminary) is located within the compound of Seomshim Girls...   Read more

  This park is the site where the nationwide independence movement began in March 1919. It was also the site of Heungboksa Temple during the Goryeo Period (877-1394). The temple was renovated by King Sejo, who mobilized 2,000 troops for the task, and expanded into the largest temple in the capital by purchasing 200 nearby...   Read more

  Following the completion of the new Seoul City Hall in October 2012, it was decided that the old Seoul City Hall should be used as Seoul Library. Upon the annexation of Joseon as a Japanese colony in 1910, the colonists changed the name Hanseong-bu (present-day Seoul) to Gyeongseong-bu, making it part of Gyeonggi-do. To...   Read more