Imperial Japan forced the Joseon government to sign the Eulsa Treaty, thus depriving the country of its sovereignty. The first thing that Imperial Japan did in Korea was to build Seodaemun Prison, a large wooden building that could accommodate more than 500 inmates, being more than twice the size of all the country’s prisons...   Read more

  Upon its opening in 1908, Daehan Hospital was an ultra-modern facility, and few other hospitals in East Asia could rival it in terms of its size and the quality of its facilities. It laid the basis for modern medical science in Korea, recruiting a large number of doctors, establishing a treatment system based on...   Read more

  Towards the end of the 1800s, the area between Malli-dong and Seoul Station was a medicinal herb field (“yakhyeon” in Korean), giving rise to the name of Yakhyeon Cathedral. The western-style building was built on the site where many Catholics were executed. The country’s 100-year-long persecution of western religions ended in the 1880s. Yakhyeon...   Read more

  Paichai Hakdang School, a predecessor of Paichai High School, was a modern private school founded by the American missionary Henry G. Appenzeller in 1885. King Gojong presented the school with a hanging board bearing the school’s name, Paichai, meaning a “house for training useful talented people.” The school helped students from poor households earn...   Read more

  Ewha Hakdang was opened in 1886 by an American missionary named Mary Scranton. At first, she taught a student at her private house in Jeong-dong. In February 1887, Emperor Gojong gave the first girls’ school in the country the name Ewha, literally meaning “pear blossom. A symbol of the royal family, the pear blossom...   Read more

  Three million followers of the Cheondogyo Religion decided to donate 10 won each in order to build the Central Hall. They collected 270,000 won and started the work in July 1919. The hall was completed in February 1921. They gave the rest of the money to the March 1919 Independence Movement. At first, Cheondogyo’s...   Read more

  The building of the Seoul Museum of Art was built during the colonial period in 1928 as Gyeongseong Court on the site of Pyeongniwon (Hanseong Court), the country’s first court. After the country’s liberation, the building was used as the Supreme Court until the latter’s relocation to a new building in Seocho-dong in 1995,...   Read more

    Mr. Choi Sun-u (pen-name: Hyegok; 1916~1984) is regarded as one of the three leading figures from Gaeseong, along with Hwang Su-yeong (a Buddhist art historian) and Jin Hong-seop (a fine art historian). He left his mark on the history of fine arts in Korea in his capacity as the director of the National...   Read more

  There are several theories about the origin of the name seolleongtang (ox bone soup), the most plausible being that it stems from the food served immediately after a sacrificial rite held by the king at the Seonnongdan Altar to pray for a good year. The Imun Seolleongtang restaurant has specialized in this dish since...   Read more

Hangnim Dabang was a popular meeting place for students of Seoul National University who discussed how to carry out the democratization movement over a cup of coffee. It was also a favorite meeting place for people from music, fine art, and drama circles. The teahouse was opened in 1956 across the street from the College...   Read more

  This old, green-painted building is situated right next to the sidewalk in Chungjeong-ro. Its ground floor is occupied by various stores. The three nameplates made of different materials at the entrance inform visitors that it is an old building. According to the building register, it was completed in August 1937. It was named Toyota...   Read more

  Gimpo International Airport, the country’s first airport, was built in 1942 and used for military purposes until 1957. It was designated as an international airport in 1958 and, two years later, in 1960, the government took over control of the airport from the U.S. military. Thereafter, the airport served as the main gateway to...   Read more