Yeonhui-dong () is a '' dong'' (neighbourhood) at the center of

Seodaemun District Seodaemun District () is one of the 25 List of districts of Seoul, districts of Seoul, South Korea. It has a population of 313,814 (2010) and has a geographic area of 17.61 Square kilometre, km2 (6.8 sq mi), and is divided into 14 ''Dong (admi ...

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. It is an area in Seoul near

Yonsei university Yonsei University () is a Private university, private Christian university, Christian research university located in Seoul, South Korea. Yonsei is one of the three most prestigious universities in the country, part of a group referred to as SK ...

, and actually the name Yonsei comes from the combination of Yeonhui (the former Yonhee College) and Severance (the former Severance Union Medical College, Severance Hospital). A strategic position during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

(Hill 104), the area is bordered by Hongjecheon to the West (a stream overlooked by an important expressway),

Ansan Ansan (, ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It lies southwest of Seoul and is part of the Seoul Metropolitan Area. It is connected to Seoul by rail via Seoul Subway Line 4. It is situated on the Yellow Sea coast and some islands lie ...

to the East (the mountain where Yonsei University is located), and Yeonnam-dong (

Mapo District Mapo District () is one of the 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea. Mapo has a population of 381,330 (2015) and has a geographic area of 23.87 km2 (9.22 sq mi), and is divided into 24 '' dong'' (administrative neighborhoods). Mapo is located in ...

) to the South. Seodaemun District office is situated at the top of this triangle, along with the Seodaemun Health Center () and the Seodaemun Youth Center (), with its public swimming pool.

Names

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 neighborhood had different names (Jeongja-dong, Yeom-dong, Gung-dong, Eumwol-ri). Under the Japanese occupation, it was sent to

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

, and returned to Gyeongseong-bu (Seoul) as Yeonhui-jeong (延禧町). In 1946 it became Yeonhui-dong. Note that the Southern ('nam') part of Yeonhui-dong that joined

in 1975 – the section on the other side of the Southern section of the Gyeongui Line – was logically named Yeonnam-dong. The name is a tribute to the Yeonhuigung palace praised by early Joseon kings, most notably

King Sejong Sejong (; 15 May 1397 – 8 April 1450), commonly known as Sejong the Great (), was the fourth monarch of the Joseon, Joseon dynasty of Korea. He is regarded as the greatest ruler in Korean history, and is remembered as the inventor of Hangu ...

, who often stayed there on week-ends, and had the first Korean silk made in that palace.

An international educational and residential area

Two major foreign schools, Seoul Foreign School and Seoul Chinese School, seat in Yeonhui-dong, which also hosts many hagwon. Note that if Yonsei owes its name to the area, the university is actually located in Sinchon-dong. Many expat families live in this essentially low rise and residential area. If the Chinese community is less visible than a couple of years ago, some restaurants and shops subsist, particularly along Yeonhuimat-gil. Among famous residents or former residents: * Two former South Korean presidents:

Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean politician, army general and military dictator who served as the fifth president of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Prior to his accession to the presidency, he was the cou ...

and

Roh Tae-woo Roh Tae-woo (, ; 4 December 1932 – 26 October 2021) was a South Korean army general and politician who served as the sixth president of South Korea from 1988 to 1993. In 1987, he became the first president to be directly elected under the cur ...

. * Singer, Actors, Artists and Writers:

Jeon Somi Ennik Somi Douma (born March 9, 2001), known professionally by her Korean name Jeon Somi (), is a South Korean and Canadian singer signed under The Black Label. Born in Canada to a South Korean mother and a Dutch-Canadian father, she moved to ...

, Matthew Douma, Seo Taiji, Kim Young-ha, Choe U-ram, Park Seo-bo.

Attractions and landmarks

* Seodaemun Museum of Natural History * Seodaemun-gu office, Seodaemun Health Center, Seodaemun Youth Center * Ansan Park,

forest * Seoul Art Space Yeonhui (writers residence) * Site of Yeonhuigung palace – a well has been restored in the Western half of the neighborhood * Site of the Yeonhui Hill 104 Battleground (), a strategic position during the

, claimed by the South on September 21, 1950, defended from a counterattack by the North Korean forces the next day. A monument was erected on September 28, 1958.

References

* * * *

External links

Seodaemun District Official site in English

Map of Seodaemun District
*
Seodaemun District Official website
*
-dong Resident office
*
Seodaemun Youth Center
Neighborhoods of Seodaemun District {{Seoul-geo-stub

Names

An international educational and residential area

Attractions and landmarks

See also

References

External links