visitseoul.net

(Seoul Guided Walking Tour)
(with a cultural tourism commentator)
(Namsan City Wall)
Greetings!
Welcome to Seoul Guided Walking Tour, Namsan City Wall Course
I'm Do Gyeong-jae, Seoul's cultural tourism commentator
in charge of today's guide of Namsan City Wall course
Hello
I'm Esra, an international student from Turkey
- Nice to meet you
- Nice to meet you
Today, we'll walk along Namsan City Wall,
which is both a tourist attraction and a monument of Korean contemporary history
Are you looking forward to it?
Yes, I'm really excited to visit Namsan Tower
as well as learn about the history and culture of Korea from this place
We'll start the course from Jangchungdan Park,
then to Seoul City Wall, the symbol of Joseon's capital city,
and to the city's landmark, Namsan Tower,
Namsan Bongsudae, Seoul City Wall Historic Site Exhibition Hall,
then to Patriot Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Hall as our final destination
Shall we visit our first site, Jangchungdan Park?
(Jangchungdan Park)
During Joseon Dynasty, this location was originally used
(*Military Camp : Where the troops were stations)
as a *military camp called 'Namsoyeong'
But the Emperor Gojong constructed a national shrine called Jangchungdan in 1900
to commemorate the loyal soldiers and lieges who were deceased
during Donghak Peasant Revolution and the Empress Myeongseong murder case
Later, it was also used to commemorate the victims of
the Imo Military Revolt and the Gapsin Coup
So, this was a park built for the ones who sacrificed for the nation
Yes, it was
However, on October 26th, 1909,
after Ahn Jung-geun shot 'Itō Hirobumi' at Harbin station,
the first Japanese supervisor of Joseon,
the Japanese Empire hosted a memorial ceremony
for Itō Hirobumi here at Jangchungdan
Since then, the Japanese Empire
eliminated Jangchungdan's original purpose as an administration facility
Instead, they began to establish facilities starting from 1919
by digging up a pond and setting wooden bridges
to open it as a park managed by Gyeongseong Prefecture in 1920
I'm sorry to hear how this place has changed from
a shrine for victims to a park by the Japanese Empire
Yes, it is truly heart-breaking
This 'Jangchungdan Monument'
also dates back to the first establishment of Jangchungdan
But the Japanese Empire removed it in 1932
to build *Bakmunsa to commemorate Ito Hirobumi,
(*Bakmunsa : A temple built in Japanese colonial era)
which is now the site of Shilla Hotel
In 1969, it finally returned to the place where it is standing now
So, let's move onto the next spot
(Supyogyo)
This is a bridge called Supyogyo
It looks like an ordinary bridge to me, what makes it special?
This bridge, Supyogyo, was built in 1420
by the Great King Sejong, the fourth king of Joseon
At first, it was called a Majeongyo because there was a market selling cattle nearby
Then, in 1441,
the Great King Sejong built a staff gauge
with scales to measure the water level
Since then, this bridge was called Supygyo
The gauge was scaled from 0 to 9
with holes in 3, 6 and 9
to easily identify the water level from far away
Draught for below 3,
Average for below 6,
and flood for over 9
Supyogyo was originally located at Cheonggyecheon Stream
But it was dismantled and stored in Sinnyeong-dong, Seoul,
during the covering construction of Cheonggyecheon Stream in 1959
Then, it was re-installed at here in 1965
So, this bridge was used to measure the water levels
That's fascinating
Great, shall we go to the next site?
(Seoul City Wall)
This is Seoul City Wall
Esra, do you happen to know the capital city of Joseon?
I learned it from the school, but I'm not so sure
The capital city of Joseon is Seoul
The first king of the Joseon Dynasty, Yi Seong-gye
has moved the capital from Gaesung to Seoul in 1394
After moving the capital, the king began to construct
(*Sajikdan : An altar constructed by the first king of Joseon)
the essential facilities including Jongmyo Shrine, *Sajikdan Altar,
and Gyeongbokgung Palace
In 1396, Seoul City Wall was built to separate and defend the borders of Seoul
From Baegaksan Mountain in the center, Naksan Mountain in the east,
Namsan, also known as Mokmeoksan Mountain in the south,
and to Inwangsan Mountain in the west
which lengthens over 11 miles, connecting the ridges and plains
More than 200,000 people were mobilized to build the wall
during the agricultural off-seasons in mid-summer and mid-winter
Spending 49 days per season, it was completed in just 98 days
Wow! This 11-mile wall was built in just 98 days!
It's truly amazing to build a wall like this without machines!
After being constructed, Seoul City Wall was
consistently maintained by the posterity of the king
such as King Sejong, King Sukjong and King Sunjo
In modern days, after the Blue House Raid in 1968,
it underwent an extensive maintenance work since 1975
to utilize it for the capital defense up until now
In the wall, there were eight large and small gates
for the people to go in and out
Beside those gates, however,
there were uncharted small gates kept in secret, too
How secretive is that!
Those small gates were designed for
the troops and civilians to secretly enter the capital
in case of rebellion or foreign invasion
They were called 'dark gate' to keep their presence under darkness
Our next destination is too mountainous and far to climb,
so we're taking a Namsan Yellow Bus at National Theater of Korea
Shall we move on?
(Namsan N Seoul Tower)
I've been here many times before!
It is a popular tourist destination for the visitors
and it's the first image that comes to my mind when I think of Seoul, or Korea
Yes, that's right
It is a popular tourist destination for the foreigners
which is a symbol of Seoul, as well as a complex cultural space
Namsan Seoul Tower was originally constructed
as the first combined broadcasting tower in Korea
to transmit television and radio broadcast signals
I just thought Namsan Seoul Tower was an observatory
to look down the beautiful scenery of Seoul,
but it was a broadcasting tower!
In the beginning, it was used to transmit broadcast signals,
but it opened to the public in 1980
Since then, more than 12 million tourists have made annual visits
It is still popular as a resting place for the Seoul citizens,
and a tourist attraction for the international visitors
Esra, have you seen the illumination of Namsan Seoul Tower at night?
Several times, I think?
Most people are unaware of this,
but the illumination of the tower
indicates the air quality of Seoul in regards to fine dust
You didn't know that, right?
I have never guessed!
Today, I learned lots of new details
of Namsan Seoul Tower
Alright, shall we move on?
(Bongsudae)
This is Bongsudae located at the top of Namsan
It was a place for military communication, which is well-explained
(*Mangiyoram : A book on finances and military in late Joseon dynasty)
in a book called '*Mangiyoram', published in 1808,
on how they communicated by using fire as beacons
According to the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty, in 1423,
(*Byungjo : the Ministry of War in Joseon dynasty)
*Byungjo has built five Bongsuades in Namsan
to deliver the local news back to the capital
It's interesting to communicate signals by beacons!
However, Bongsudae became unnecessary since 1885,
when telegraph and telephone were introduced
Its traditional communication system expired in 1895,
after the fire beacon system and the workers were gone
However, the funny thing is,
the telecommunication towers are built on the locations of Bongsudae
Shall we move on?
(Seoul City Wall Historic Site Exhibition Hall)
(Historic Site Exhibition Hall is outside the course, but a recommended place to visit)
We're now at Seoul City Wall Historic Site Exhibition Hall
There used to be a Joseon Shrine
built by the Japanese Empire over the city wall in 1925
After losing the war in 1945, the Japanese Empire
disassembled the shrine by themselves
and completely burned the place down
In 2006, while dismantling and excavating a botanical garden
as part of 'Namsan Restoration Project',
long-forgotten remains of Seoul City Wall were discovered
So, after a century, the walls of Seoul City
have returned to us as Seoul City Wall Historic Site Exhibition Hall
Some other discoveries were made
such as concrete bases of Joseon Shinto Shrine,
half-burned pillars,
(*Air-raid shelter : Underground hole to avoid air raids)
and *air-raid shelter
They are painful parts of history, but shouldn't be forgotten
While looking around the exhibition hall,
I'm glad that I thoroughly learned about the history of Korea and its meanings
Then, shall we move on?
(Patriot Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Hall)
Esra, how much do you know about Ahn Jung-geun?
He was a soldier fighting against Japanese Empire for independence, right?
Yes, that's correct
You're really interested in the history of Korea
Patriot Ahn exiled himself to Maritime Territory, Russia in 1907
to start civilian army activity against Japanese Empire
In March of 1909, twelve independent activists including Ahn
gathered for coalition
To devote themselves for the independence of Korea,
they amputated a joint of their finger as an oath
and wrote 'Korea Independence' on the national flag with blood
On October 26th of that year, Patriot Ahn
shot Itō Hirobumi at Harbin station
and pulled out the Korean flag
(*Russian for 'Long live Korea')
He shouted, "*Корея Ура!" and was arrested at the scene
He was imprisoned at Lushun Prison In China,
and he died for his country on March 26th of 1910, at the young age of 32
That's a shame
I guess the patriots were influenced by their parents?
How did you find out?
His mother, Cho Maria gave her handmade prison uniform and said,
"You were sentenced by doing righteousness acts"
"Do not beg for mercy, and die for the great cause"
"That's the filial duty to your mother", which is truly brave of her
After his death, the Japanese Empire incinerated and processed
the remains of Patriot Ahn in secret, which is lost until today
That's really, really sad
Ah, right
I also heard about Yu Gwan-sun, too
You're right
Our everyday life in Korea
is built upon the sacrifices of the righteous people
who devoted themselves to protect the nation
This Patriot Ahn Jung-geun Memorial Hall was built to
commemorate the twelve people who cut their fingers for the oath
The twelve rectangular-shaped buildings represent the twelve people,
and the transparent glass building
symbolizes Patriot Ahn who succeeded his mission
The stone monuments around the Memorial Hall
are particularly meaningful to us,
because the writings of Patriot Ahn were engraved on them
In front of the Memorial Hall,
there is a statue of Patriot Ahn pulling out Korean Flag after the heroic deed
After walking around the Namsan City Wall course together,
now it's time to finish our journey
I felt the time really flew by
as I listened to the historic events related to Namsan from you
Yes, Namsan City Wall is a good place to experience Korean culture
including our sad history during the Japanese colonial era
How was it for you, Esra?
After visiting many interesting places,
I became more thoughtful about the history of Korea
Thanks to your stories,
it was a far more interesting and valuable time than other lessons
I'm glad that you enjoyed it
I also enjoyed being with you today, Esra
There are lots of Seoul Guided Walking Tour courses other than this too
If you search 'Seoul Guided Walking Tour' online,
(Visit dobo.visitseoul.net)
you can read explanations about other courses and directions on making reservations
Seoul's cultural tourism commentators are waiting for you
to tell fun stories hidden in various parts of Seoul,
so please visit us frequently.
- Thank you
- Thank you
(Seoul Guided Walking Tour)
(with a cultural tourism commentator)
(Namsan City Wall)