Seoul City Wall
The Seoul City Wall () or Hanyang Doseong () is a defensive wall first built by the King Taejo of Joseon dynasty to defend the downtown area of Joseon's capital city Hanseong (). It was designated as a Historic Site of South Korea in 1963, and ...
, a prominent landmark in central
Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
, South Korea. The
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean
**Korean dialects
**See also: North–South differences in t ...
name "Dongdaemun" means "Great East Gate," and it was so named because it was the major eastern gate in the wall that surrounded Seoul during the
Joseon
Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...
period. The gate is located at
Jongno
Jongno or Jong-ro () is a trunk road and one of the oldest major east–west thoroughfares in Seoul, South Korea. Jongno connects Gwanghwamun Plaza to Dongdaemun.
The area surrounding Jongno is a part of Downtown Seoul and one of the most ...
6-ga in
Jongno District
upright=1, Bosingak bell pavilion
Jongno District () is one of the 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea. It is the historic center of Seoul that contains Gyeongbokgung, the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty, and the Blue House, the for ...
.
History
The structure was first built by King Taejo during his fifth year of reign (1398). It was renovated in 1453, and the current structure is the one rebuilt in 1869.
Heunginjimun shows architectural style of the late Joseon period. The most unusual characteristic is its built outer wall, Ongseong. Ongseong was constructed to compensate the weakness of the target from multiple invaders, protecting the gate.
Preservation
Heunginjimun is located at the intersection of subway lines 1 and 4, at Dongdaemun Station (). The gate is within easy reach of exit 1 or exits 6–10 of this station.
Construction of the
Dongdaemun Design Plaza
Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP; ) is a major urban development landmark in Seoul, South Korea, designed by Zaha Hadid and Samoo, with a distinctively neofuturistic design characterized by the "powerful, curving forms of elongated structures." Th ...
, a major
urban development
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of peop ...
landmark designed by
Zaha Hadid
Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-born British architect, artist, and designer. She is recognised as a key figure in the architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born ...
, started in 2009 to renovate what used to be Dongdaemun Stadium (an amateur
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
park) and was officially inaugurated on March 21, 2014. This landmark, also called the DDP, is the centerpiece of South Korea's fashion hub and popular tourist destination and has been one of the main reasons for Seoul's designation as
World Design Capital The World Design Capital (WDC) programme, designated every two years by the World Design Organization (WDO), recognizes cities for their effective use of design to drive economic, social, cultural, and environmental development. Through a year-long ...
in 2010.
In August 2011, the roof of the gate was partially damaged by record rainfall. The large amount of rain resulted in chipping of the roof's ridge. An official of the Cultural Heritage Administration stated that "The aged gate underwent repairs in 1998 and seems to have become soaked in heavy rains".
By , the area around Dongdaemun known as
Dongdaemun Market
Dongdaemun Market () or Dongdaemun (abbreviated DDM) is a large commercial district in Jongno District, Seoul, South Korea.Dongdaemun Station
*
List of upscale shopping districts
A shopping street or shopping district is a designated road or quarter of a municipality that is composed of Retail, retail establishments (such as Retail store, stores, boutiques, restaurants, and Shopping center, shopping complexes). Such are ...