Colonial traces remain embedded deep in Seoul’s urban landscape - The Korea Times

Colonial traces remain embedded deep in Seoul’s urban landscape - The Korea Times



Colonial traces remain embedded deep in Seoul’s urban landscape
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Text SizePrintN Seoul Tower stands atop central Seoul's Mount Nam, Nov. 2. To the left is the entrance to a Japanese-built World War II-era bunker, and on the right stones mark the former path of the city wall. Courtesy of Matt VanVolkenburg
By Matt VanVolkenburgPublished Nov 10, 2025 5:00 am KST


Standing near Sookmyung Women’s University Station in central Seoul is a nondescript building with an unassuming doorway, above which a sign in Korean reads “Namyeong Arcade.” Stepping inside, one can’t help but notice the high ceiling with wooden roof trusses stretching above a trendy cafe. While the exact age of the building is unclear, as an institution, it dates back to 1922, when it was established as one of several modern markets built for Japanese residents.

The original building burned down within a year of opening, highlighting the threat from fires, particularly in the winter months. In 1925, two fires were quickly put out but were suspected of having been caused by arson, leading to, as the Chosun Ilbo reported, “fear and unease” among local residents.



The interior of Namyeong Arcade in central Seoul, Nov. 2. Courtesy of Matt VanVolkenburg

The same newspaper reported in late 1938 that skyrocketing inflation in the wake of the outbreak of war in China led to the formation of the Gyeongseong Retail Market Association Federation, which aimed to implement price controls, thereby “fulfilling its mission as an essential supply organization during wartime.”


Heading east from the market’s location while skirting the northern wall of the former Japanese (and then later American) military base at Yongsan, one comes across a number of schools, most notably Yongsan Middle School, one of several established in the area between 1918 and 1922 to teach the students of Japanese officers and soldiers. In 1930, Kenzo Muro, son of the newly appointed commander of the Japanese 20th Division in Yongsan, transferred to the school. In 1941, a local newspaper reported that this former student, by then a pilot, had died in an air raid over China.



The 108 Stairs that led to Seoul’s Defense of Nation Shrine now feature a funicular‐style elevator. Courtesy of Matt VanVolkenburg

This area and the slopes of Mount Nam all bear traces of the Japanese Empire. Next to the middle school are the 108 stairs that formerly led the way to the Defense of Nation Shrine built by Japanese authorities in 1943 as a branch of Yasukuni Shrine. Further north is the former location of the better-known Joseon Shrine, the massive Shinto shrine built in 1925 atop the former city wall, where Japan’s Korean subjects were compelled to bow, particularly during the 1941-45 Pacific War, when ration coupons were tied to such performative participation in the war effort.



A bomb shelter is dug into Namsan on the former site of the Joseon Shinto Shrine. Courtesy of Matt VanVolkenburg

Nothing remains of that shrine, though its stairs have been moved and repurposed, and a Pacific War-era bomb shelter was discovered in recent years. Traces of the former Japanese presence on the northern slopes of Mount Nam are harder to find, however. Japan’s embassy, built in 1892, later a museum to the Government General that featured as an exhibit the room where the documents of Korea’s annexation were signed in 1910, has long since been demolished, as has Japan’s first Resident-General building, completed in 1907. Gyeongseong Shrine, an earlier Shinto shrine established in 1898, is also long gone, though a few pieces of it can be found on the campus of Soongeui Women’s University.



Remains of Gyeongseong Shrine can still be found on Soongeui Women’s University campus. Courtesy of Matt VanVolkenburg

The fact that the area around Japan’s former embassy eventually housed several KCIA buildings parallels the fate of the site where Namsangol Hanok Village currently stands. Serving as Japan’s main military base before Yongsan Garrison opened, and then as its military police base until 1945, it later became the site of Korea’s Capital Defense Command (CDC) headquarters from 1962 to 1991. One mission of the CDC was to prevent a coup against Park Chung-hee, but it later became instrumental in the 1979 coup that brought Chun Doo-hwan to power, a power play that saw future Korean President Roh Tae-woo appointed CDC commander.

Perhaps the most interesting site related to the Japanese Empire is that of Jangchung Park and The Shilla Seoul hotel. This area, as well as land further south, was once the site of Jangchungdan, the Altar to Encourage Loyalty, which was established by Emperor Gojong in 1900 to honor loyal subjects who had died for the country, particularly during the 1895 assassination of Queen Min and the 1894-95 Donghak Uprising.


After Korea’s annexation by Japan in 1910, Jangchungdan, much like Changgyeong Palace, was converted into a park. Two decades later, this site, which had formerly honored Korean patriots, was converted into a temple to honor Ito Hirobumi, Japan’s first prime minister, who had overseen Korea’s reduction to protectorate status before his assassination by Ahn Jung-geun in 1909.

Completed in 1932, the temple (the name of which featured characters that read ‘Hirobumi-ji’ in Japanese but were pronounced ‘Bakmunsa’ in Korean) featured a newly built central hall alongside buildings removed from Gyeongbok Palace and Wongudan (the altar where King Gojong had been proclaimed emperor of the Daehan Empire in 1897), as well as Heunghwamun, the main gate of Gyeonghui Palace — the only palace to be entirely demolished after annexation.

Not all of Gyeonghui Palace disappeared, however — its throne room, Sungjeongjeon, was purchased by a Japanese Buddhist sect and converted into a temple, the grounds of which — east of Jangchung Park — later became the campus of Dongguk University, where the building stands today as Jeonggakwon, the university’s temple building.



Heunghwamun Gate stands at the entrance of The Shilla Seoul hotel. Courtesy of Matt VanVolkenburg

Gyeonghui Palace’s former gate, Heunghwamun, still stands today in front of The Shilla Seoul, which was built on the site of Bakmunsa in 1979, and is only 400 meters from the palace’s former throne room on the Dongguk University campus. Both stand as silent reminders of the Japanese Empire’s attempts to remake Seoul in its own image by overwriting the urban fabric of the Daehan Empire.

The aforementioned places will be visited, and many more stories about the area’s colonial history will be shared this coming Saturday in an excursion by RAS Korea. Participation costs 30,000 won, or 25,000 won for RAS Korea members. Visit raskb.com for more information.

Matt VanVolkenburg has a master's degree in Korean studies from the University of Washington. He is the blogger behind populargusts.blogspot.kr, and co-author of "Called by Another Name: A Memoir of the Gwangju Uprising."