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 Sewoon Arcade in the area was started, and eight buildings were completed in the four districts by the end of the following year. Sewoon Arcade, the country’s first multi-purpose apartment, was created. It was a result of the joint efforts by Seoul Mayor Kim Hyon-ok, whose nickname was “Bulldozer,” and Kim Swoo-geun, one of the country’s leading, first-generation modern architects. It enjoyed good business for many years. People cracked jokes about Sewoon Arcade, saying that it could make anything, even humans, and that it could launch even a satellite.