These days, there is an atmosphere of calm and peace in Deoksugung Palace and nearby Jeongdong Street. A century ago, however, the area was an arena of power rivalry. Jungmyeongjeon Hall in Deoksugung Palace is a red-brick, arch-style, two-story building designed by a Russian architect named Afanasy Ivanovich Seredin-Sabatin. Its name was changed from...   Read more

  Hong Nanpa was the country’s first violinist. He founded and served as the conductor of the Gyeongseong Broadcast Station Orchestra in 1936. He composed many classical songs, such as Gohyangeuibom (Spring in My Hometown) and Bongseonhwa (Touch-me-not), which are deeply loved by many Koreans, and numerous pieces of violin and orchestral music, in addition...   Read more

  Bishop Mark N. Trollope, the third bishop of Seoul Anglican Cathedral, led the campaign to raise funds for the construction of the cathedral. Designed by British architect Arthur Dixon, the new cathedral was begun in 1922. Cathedral Anglican Church settled for something less than what was originally designed, i.e. the shape of a Latin...   Read more

  An elderly lady named Gwon O-nam (83) has run the Dae-O second-hand bookstore since 1951. The name Dae-O is derived from her husband’s name (“Dae”) and her own name (“O”). The bookstore is located in a back alley to the west of Gyeongbokgung Palace. The old signboard, the old-fashioned sliding door, and the cramped...   Read more

  Itaewon, Yongsan is a great place to experience a mixture of many different cultures. During the Imjin War (1592-1598) and the colonial period (1910-1945), Japanese troops were stationed in Yongsan. Following the Korean War (1950-1953), the area became a U.S. military compound. An unusual fusion food became famous upon U.S. President Linden Johnson’s visit...   Read more

  Mr. Jang Myeon served as the Prime Minister of the Second Republic following the April 1960 Revolution against the rigged election of March 1960, which led to the collapse of the First Republic. Jang Myeon’s House was built by Kim Jung-hee, one of his closer relatives, in 1937, when Mr. Jang served as the...   Read more

  Kyongsong Spinning & Weaving was the first limited company established by Koreans during the colonial period. It was established by raising capital of 100 won (equivalent to 120 billion won in terms of the current currency value) from influential people across the country. At that time, Koreans paid 30 million won (equivalent to 3.24...   Read more

  During the Pacific War, the one-kilometer-long open space between Jongmyo and Toegyero used to be left against Allied Forces’ aerial attack. After the end of the Korean War, the area was filled with unauthorized ramshackle huts, and there were also many whorehouses there until the 1960s. In November 1967, work on the construction of...   Read more

  In the 1960s and 1970s, Cheongnyangni Station was the departure point for anyone taking a trip to Chuncheon or other destinations along the Hangang (River) between Seoul and Chuncheon. It was also the starting point for trains linking Seoul and Wonsan (North Korea) in 1911, as well as trains linking Seoul and Yeongju. Major...   Read more

  There is a hanok (Korean traditional house) that resembles a small hermitage on a secluded slope in Seongbuk-dong. Buddhist monk and poet Han Yong-un lived in this house as a hermit in his later years. He played a leading role in the modernization of Buddhism in Korea. He had the house built facing north,...   Read more

  This wholesale clothing market, the largest of its kind in the country, developed along the Cheonggyecheon (Stream). It was given the name Pyounghwa (Peace) because many of the storeowners wished for the country’s peaceful unification with the North. Many of the market’s storeowners crossed the 38th parallel from the North during the Korean War,...   Read more

  Hyochang Stadium, the country’s first international soccer stadium, was built in October 1960. The 23,000-seat facility consists of a soccer field with an athletics track running around it. The stadium is still used for various purposes. At first, the government planned to relocate patriots’ tombs in the area elsewhere to build the stadium, but...   Read more