경희궁공원

A Time Travel to the Past The Seoul Museum of History is located next to Gyeonghuigung Palace. It is the first city history museum in Korea to explore the 600-year history of Seoul, from the Joseon Dynasty to the present day. It offers visitors a unique opportunity to glimpse into the history of Seoul, the capital city of Korea, through its collection of relics from the past. The permanent exhibition of the museum is divided into five main themes, each offering a distinct perspective on Seoul’s history. ‘The Joseon Capital’ explains why the founders of the dynasty chose Seoul to be the capital city and shows Seoul’s early engagement with the world. This section features photographs and videos of Gwanghwamun Square when it was known as Yukjogeori, Bukchon, the residence of the city's most influential individuals, and areas beyond the city wall like Mapo, Yongsan, and Wangsimni, collectively referred to as Hanyang. Moving on, the second exhibition are of the ‘The Capital of the Korean Empire’ illustrates how the dynasty, which faced new changes in the 19th century, inherited and developed its tradition with aspirations. Visitors can explore vintage photos capturing everyday life, including people using trams and experiencing electrical appliances for the first time. The third zone is themed ‘Seoul under Japanese Control’. It sheds light on the challenges faced by Seoul’s residents as they grappled with the imposition of Japanese culture following Korea’s forced annexation by Japan in 1910. It highlights the struggles for independence during this period. The fourth zone, ‘Seoul after Liberation,’ documents the city's transformation from its liberation in 1945 to the hosting of the 2002 World Cup. A must-visit location within the museum is the 'City Model Image Hall' on the third floor. This multimedia exhibition hall combines intricate models and cutting-edge IT technology, allowing visitors to experience Seoul's entire landscape with a 1:1500 scale model and videos. For those eager to deepen their understanding of Seoul, the 'Find Seoul' system is available in a corner of the hall.

Jeongdong Theater Jeongdong Theater was founded in 1995 with the idea of restoring “Wongagsa”, the first-ever modern private theater of Korea. Although this is not the original location of Wongagsa, it has become a new cultural space in the city that distributes traditional art and seeks culture in the midst of life together with other cultural venues nearby. Although it was the last of many cultural facilities settled in Jeongdong, it became a symbol of Jeongdong arts and culture as it put on stage various genres from traditional art and music to dance and theater every year. In particular, “Jeongdong Theater Regular Gugak Performances”, which was the first case of traditional arts commercialized as a tourism product carried out by a Korean theater, of 1997 has established itself as a program through which the audience can enjoy the traditional Korean art performances in a more friendly and diverse fashion. The reason that Jeongdong Theater was able to survive as an independent theater was because it inherited the spirit of modern art and continues to develop new performances to communicate with today's audiences. As a result, high-quality performances are produced insomuch to attract enthusiasts and foreign tourists who come just to watch the Jeongdong Theater performances. On the exterior wall of the Jeongdong Theater’s outdoor yard, there is an artwork called “Myths, Plays and Vision of Planets” that shows the image of an ideal cultural space that Jeongdong Theater aims at. Also, the statue of Lee Dong-baek, a famous Pansori master singer from the 19th century, tells us that Jeongdong Theater succeeds the spirits of modern artists.

Jungmyeongjeon Hall, Deoksugung Palace Jungmyeongjeon Hall was called Suokheon when it was initially used as a royal library. The name, Suokheon, has the meaning of “wiping the jade.” In 1904, Emperor Gojong stayed here to avoid a great fire that broke out in Deoksugung and, later, its name changed to Jungmyeongjeon. Why did its name change from Suokheon to Jungmyeongjeon? Buildings in a royal palace are named differently depending on the people who use them and their purpose, and these are classified by the last letter of the building names including Jeon, Dang, Hap or Gak, Jae or Heon, Ru or Nu and Jeong. When naming Suokheon, “Heon” was used since the building executes official functions for the royal family but, later when King Gojong stayed here, “Jeon”, which is attached in case a building is used by the elders of the palace such as the king, queen, queen of the abdicated king or queen dowager, was affixed at the end of the name to become Jungmyeongjeon. Jungmyeongjeon Hall was where Emperor Gojong ordered the Hague Secret Emissary to go to the Second Peace Conference. Moreover, it was the the stage for the compulsory signing of the Eulsa Treaty of 1905 and the Korea-Japan Agreement of August 1904, which served as a stepping stone for Japanese colonization. On the 1st floor of Jungmyeongjeon, the events that took place at the time are reproduced in miniature models so you can witness the miserable scenes of our history. During the Japanese occupation era, Jungmyeongjeon was utilized as a gathering place for foreigners. Behind Jungmyeongjeon is where Manheedang once existed. Manheedang was the building used as Emperor Gojong's bedroom after he had relocated to this place due to the great fire of Deoksugung Palace, but it was eventually torn down once the emperor returned to Hamnyeongjeon Hall in 1907. Then, during the Japanese colonial period, Jungmyeongjeon was used as a meeting place and, in the location where Manheedang once was, a swimming pool was built for foreigners. The pool, however, disappeared after the Korean War. An excavation survey in 2009 identified the traces of the swimming pool and columns of Manheedang in the area.

Ewha Hakdang Founded in Seoul in 1886, Ewha Hakdang was a private educational institution providing elementary, middle and high school curricula, and is also the first-ever educational institution for women. The number of students slowly grew after Mary Fletcher Benton Scranton, a missionary for the Methodist Episcopal Church, recruited a female student through much difficulty and started to teach her in 1886, which was how Ewha Hakdang began. It was quite a tough task to recruit female students and operate a school in the late Joseon Dynasty, a period during which no one regarded education of women as important. When the number of students increased to 7 in 1887, Emperor Gojong praised the hard work and bestowed the name, “Ewha Hakdang” upon the school. The student body of Ewha Hakdang consisted of a handful of of high-class folks such as children and wives of the enlightenment activists and children from working class families. The school pioneered a new path for women’s education and gender equality in the late Joseon Dynasty dominated by the Confucian ideology. Some of its renowned alumnae include Ryu Gwansun, a female independence activist, and Esther Park, the first female doctor. Ewha Hakdang was a hanok building at the time of its establishment but, as the number of students increased, a new Western-style building was built. One of the remaining buildings from the time of establishment is the Simpson Memorial Hall whose construction was funded by an American woman named Sarah Simpson in 1915. The building was damaged during the Korean War but it was restored, and is currently designated as Registered Cultural Heritage No. 3. Today, only the section used as the Ewha Museum within the Simpson Memorial Hall is open to the public whereas the areas other than the museum prohibits access for students’ classes.