History of Seoul

Prehistoric

It is believed that humans were living in the area that is now

All of these sites are in the south of the Han River, and do not belong to the historic Seoul district (centered in modern-day Jongno District), which is well in the north of the river.

In 554, Baekje and Gaya attempted to retake the region, but the Silla army led by Sin Province Lord (신주군주; 新州軍主) Kim Mu-ryeok (김무력; 金武力) defeated the combined force and killed the Seong of Baekje.^[21][22]

Silla soon gained full control of the city and then the peninsula, and during the Unified Silla period, Hanyang (한양; 漢陽) first referred to a district in the city, and later the city itself.

Goryeo period

It was thought that the kingdom that controlled the Han River valley would also have strategic control of the whole peninsula, because it was a center of transportation.^[23]

In 1104,

At the beginning of the

• 
  Gyeonghungak was an attached two-storied building of Daejojeon Hall of Changdeok Palace. The first story was Gyeonghungak, and the second story was Jinggwangru.
• 
  The street in front of Gyeongbokgung palace in the late 19th century
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  Gwanghwa Gate, the main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace
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  Seoul in 1894
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  Waryong-dong, Seoul, in the late Joseon Dynasty
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  A neighborhood of Seoul in the late Joseon Dynasty
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  A narrow street of 19th-century Seoul
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  A street of 19th-century Seoul
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  Hanseong Municipal Government
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  Seokeodang is a two-storey building of Deoksugung Palace built in the style of a private residence.
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  Jibokjae, the Royal Library of Seoul in the late Joseon period

Korean Empire period

In the late 19th century, after hundreds of years of

• 
  Funeral of Empress Myeongseong, 21 November 1897
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  View of Seoul, circa 1900
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  Bigak (Monument for the 40th Anniversary of Emperor Gojong's Enthronement), built in 1902
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  Streetcar in Seoul, 1903
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  A Korean Drum & Bugle corps escorts the Grand-Master of the Emperor's royal stables through Seoul in 1903.
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  Sungnyemun

  , 1904
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  Seokjojeon, Imperial palace of Korean Empire
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  Gwangtonggwan, the head office building of former Daehan Cheon-il Bank
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  Hwanggungwu (Imperial Vault of Heaven), Hwangudan, a site where Korean Emperors performed the rites to Heaven, 1906
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  Taehan Hospital of Seoul during the Gwangmu Reform
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  Jongno, 1908

Japanese colonial period

When the

• 
  March 1st Movement, 1919
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  Funeral for Emperor Sunjong, 10 June 1926
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  Government-General Building, built in 1926
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  Keijo Station (currently Seoul Station)
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  Keijo City Hall (currently Seoul Metropolitan Library)
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  Mitsukoshi department store (now Shinsegae Main store)
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  Chosen Commercial Bank Head Office
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  Keijō Nippō (京城日報) Company Building
• 
  Gate of Hommachi, Japanese main residence area

Modern history

After

In 1950, the Korean War broke out and Seoul changed hands between the North Korean forces and South Korean forces four times, leaving the city largely destroyed at the end of the war. One estimate of the extensive damage states that at least 191,000 buildings, 55,000 houses, and 1,000 factories lay in ruins. In addition, there were a flood of refugees from the North, swelling the city's population to an estimated 2.5 million persons. More than half of them were homeless.

The government considered moving its capital city to Yeongdeungpo and Bupyeong, which are south of the Han River.

Following the war, Seoul became the focus of an immense

In 1963, Seoul greatly expanded in size by annexing a number of towns and villages from several surrounding counties in Gyeonggi Province, such as Bucheon, Siheung, Gwangju, Yangju, and Gimpo. However, many newly annexed districts were still rural until Gangnam area began to be developed into urban neighborhoods from the late 1970s. At the same time, Gwacheon Township (today's Gwacheon city) and the northern part of West Township (today's Gwangmyeong city) in Siheung County, parts of Ojeong Township in Bucheon County, and Sindo Township in Goyang County were also annexed to the Seoul Metropolitan Urban Planning Districts (Korean: 서울특별시 도시계획구역), taking these areas as provisional districts for further official municipal annexation to Seoul in the future. In 1973, some parts of Sindo Township in Goyang County (today's Jingwan-dong in the Eunpyeong District) were officially annexed to Seoul. The remaining parts of Sindo Township, Goyang and the northern part of West Township, Siheung (today's Gwangmyeong City) were provisionally planned to be annexed to Seoul, but the municipal annexation plan foundered in the end, in which the symbolic event for this was the establishment of Gwangmyeong City (other than annexation to Guro-gu) in 1981, as the rapid growth of Seoul City was a great concern for governmental officials.

High-rise office buildings and apartments began sprouting throughout the city during the construction boom of the 1980s.

Seoul was the host city of the 1988 Summer Olympics^[26] as well as one of the venues of the 2002 FIFA World Cup.^[27]

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  In front of

  Liberation of Korea

  )
• 
  Korean welcomes Allied army, early October 1945
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  Ceremony inaugurating the government of the Republic of Korea, 15 August 1948
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  In front of the Bank of Korea, June 1950
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  Scene of war damage in residential section of Seoul. The capitol building can be seen in the background (right). 18 October 1950.
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  The old Central Post Office, 1954 (demolished 1957)
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  Bird's eye view of Seoul from the Namsan cablecar, 1962
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  Sogong-dong, Seoul, August 1970
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  Yeouido apartment buildings, 1975
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  Midopa department store,

  24 December

  1975
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  Itaewon-dong, 1986
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  10th Asian Games

  in 1986
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  Sampoong Department Store collapse, 1995
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  Young people watching the 2002 FIFA World Cup
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  Cheonggyecheon under construction, 2004

Today, the population of the Seoul area comprises 20% of the total

During the 1990s, the city began to attract many workers from other countries, changing demographics. Previously, nearly all of Seoul's residents were Korean. Today, there are an estimated 200,000 foreign nationals living in Seoul. These include tens of thousands of English teachers from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and other English-speaking countries, as well as laborers from Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

In 1995, the boundary between Seoul and Gwangmyeong rearrangement was implemented, merging parts of Cheolsan 3-dong, Gwangmyeong in the Geumcheon District of Seoul. Around the time of the 1995 municipal annexation in South Korea, the government once seriously considered a division of Seoul into several municipal or metropolitan cities, but the division plan foundered as it would be expected to cause serious problems in aspects of metropolitan governance in Seoul.

In the same year, a building collapse killed over 500 people in Seoul, mainly due to rushed construction, lack of evacuation, and selfish management by the owners. The collapse caused outrage across the country, and it was almost entirely preventable.^[28]

In addition, there are many

On 29 October 2022, a crowd crush ended up killing at least 156 people, including at least 19 foreign nationals.^[31]

Failed relocation of the capital

On 11 August 2004, the South Korean government announced they would relocate the capital city from Seoul to the Gongju area as of 2007, to ease population pressure on Seoul and to get the government to a safer distance from North Korea in case of a Northern military invasion.^[32] Gongju is approximately 120 km (75 mi) south of Seoul. The Government estimated that the move would probably not be completed before 2012.^[32] Although part of the election manifesto, this plan ignited nationwide controversy. On 21 October 2004, the Constitutional Court of Korea ruled that mostly based on custom law, the special law for the relocation of the capital is unconstitutional since the relocation is a serious national matter requiring national referendum or revision of the constitution, thus effectively ending the dispute.

In late 2004, however, the South Korean government announced plans to move most of the national government branches, except the Executive Branch, to Gongju, thus evading violation of the Constitutional Court ruling and still allow Seoul to be a National Capital. Since this plan was supported by the late president Roh Moo-hyun and bitterly opposed by the current ruling party and the former president (Lee Myung-bak – the former mayor of Seoul) the planned move was scaled back dramatically when Lee Myung-bak took office. As of 2011, some preliminary work has begun on construction of new government buildings in the Gongju area. No government agencies want to move away from the center of power in Seoul, so which agencies will be forced to move is the subject of intense behind-the-scenes debate.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to History of Seoul.

• History of Korea
• Names of Seoul
• Timeline of Seoul history

References

Bibliography