The French Embassy building is said to be the acme of contemporary architecture in Korea. The architect Kim Jung-eup, who designed the building aged 38, said, “With this work, I took my first steps as an architect.” In fact, Kim Jung-eup gained the contract by winning the open competition for the design of the...   Read more

  The old Central Hall of the Salvation Army is now used as the Salvation Army History Museum. The four columns of the entrance and the roof create a strong impression as an imposing structure. The porch flooring is made of concrete slabs. The corridors and stair railings are made of wood. The offices are...   Read more

  American missionary Henry G. Appenzeller, who founded Paichai Hakdang, a predecessor of Paichai High School, in 1885, also founded the country’s first Protestant church Bethel Yebedang (chapel), using a private Korean house in October 1887. This ultimately gave rise to Chungdong First Methodist Church.

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 yet,...   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