The beginnings of this fast-growing and increasingly important world-class city are difficult to pinpoint, but archaeological evidence indicates human settlement in the area during the prehistoric age, some 6,000 years ago. Artifacts found here reveal an agricultural people, who used stone tools for farming in the fertile Han River Basin.
Seoul–which comes from the Korean word meaning “capital”–was not always referred to by its current name. During the Three Kingdoms Period (57 BC to 668 AD) of Paekche, Koguryo and Shilla, the territory was first known by the name Wirye-Song. It was chosen as the capital of the Paekche Kingdom and occupied a site in the northeastern section of what is present-day Seoul.
Shilla, upon conquering the Paekche and Koguryo kindgoms in 668, triumphantly moved the capital south across the Han River and renamed it Hansong. The capital was renamed again, “Yangju,” under the unified Koryo Dynasty (918-1392) and then designated Namgyong, or “southern capital,” in 1067, as one of the Koryo’s three main strongholds. Up to this time, the town was still a small farming community. It was not until 1068, when king Munjong of Koryo built his summer palace here, that a larger settlement formed and began to expand.
At the beginning of the Chosun Dynasty (1392-1910) founded by King Yi Song-Gye, the town’s name changed once more, this time to Hanyang. It formally became the capital of the unified kingdoms under King Yi upon a lengthy search to find a perfect site for construction of castles, fortresses and people’s dwellings. After a couple of years of preparation, the King finally moved his court to Hanyang in October 1394, initiating rapid growth and construction. One of the first places to be built was Kyongbuk Palace in 1392; it remained the Yi kings’ residence for almost 200 years between 1395 to 1592. Along with the construction of royal shrines and palace buildings, King Yi also had a 17-kilometer fortified wall erected in 98 days by 197,000 workers. The King established close ties with the Chinese neighbors, resulting in strong Chinese cultural influences during this period.
The social structure during the Chosun Dynasty was very complex, based upon heredity and class. At the top of the social ladder were yangban– the aristocracy or elite. Under the yangban were the commoners, or the middle class, comprised mostly of farmers, laborers and craftsmen. This stratum formed the majority of the population. At the very bottom rung were the chenmin, or base people, made up of slaves, prostitutes and entertainers.
The erection of Kyongbuk Palace and the fortress wall was followed by construction of other palaces in the Seoul vicinity. Work on the Doksu Palace, for example, began in the late 15th century, and it became the residence of Yi kings from 1593-1611. Thereafter, they resided in Changdok Palace, for which ground had been broken in 1405. In 1872, the then king moved back into reconstructed Kyongbuk Palace, which had been burned down by the Japanese in 1592 and was not rebuilt until 1867.
Owing to its very limited contact with outside nations, Korea became known as “The Hermit Kingdom” during the Chosun period. However, the Chosun Dynasty could not resist incoming foreign influence, and in 1876 the county opened itself to diplomatic contact with the West. For two centuries, the population of the capital city had stood at almost 200,000, but it began to increase steadily in the wake of contact with foreign powers and missions.
The opening of the Hermit Kingdom to the outside world eventually led to Japan’s annexation of Korea in 1910. The capital city’s name was yet again changed to Kyongsong, and its population by 1936 stood at 730,000. Japan used Kyongsong as its center for the occupied peninsula. The Japanese declared that Korea no longer existed and it was now part of Japan. Millions of Korean farmers were forced to give up their land. Not only was the Korean language made illegal, but all Koreans were forced to change their names to Japanese.
Japanese control came to an end in 1945, signaling a new beginning for Korea and its capital. On 15 August 1945, National Liberation Day, the city was given the official name “Seoul,” and the following year it was granted the status of “Special City,” placing it directly under the control of the national government. By 1949, the city expanded in size to 270 square kilometers, divided into nine “gus” (districts), and increased in population to 1.4 million. The ensuing Korean War, however, reduced Seoul to almost nothing, as it was captured and retaken four times. By the war’s end in 1953, only a few building were left standing. Only after the signing of the Armistice Agreement did Seoul begin to function again as the nation’s capital, with the government and its people laboring hard to rebuild the city into the metropolis it is today.
In 1962, a special legislative measure put Seoul under the direct control of the Prime Minister, allowing it to develop and advance independently from national government supervision. Seoul again grew in population and size, reaching 605 square kilometers by 1973, more than twice the area of 1948. Today, the city is home to over 10 million people in 25 gus and 522 “dongs” (villages). To accommodate this increasing population, municipal precincts have been expanding continuously southward, south of the Han River, where a flourishing middle class now dwells in large-scale apartment buildings and commutes over numerous bridges connecting them to the city north.
Host to the Asian Games in 1986 and the Summer Olympics in 1988, along with the World Cup in 2002, Seoul has come of age as one of the most contemporary cities in the world. Yet the past is always present, as the remains of ancient palaces and fortifications standing side by side with skyscrapers and modern office buildings remind us. History is still Seoul, and Seoul is still history in the making.
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