Seoul - 2.1 Seoul Before It Became the Capital

There has been a long history of settlements in the flatland of the Han River that goes back to the prehistoric times. This downstream flatland of the Han River is the convergence of two waterways (North Han River and South Han River) flowing from the Taebaek Mountains, the heart of Baekdu Mountain Ranges. It was a key strategic location that Baekje, Goguryeo and Silla battled over since the days of the Three Kingdoms. Wiryeseong situated on the shore of the Han River (Refer to <photo 2>) was named the capital during the Hanseong Baekje Era (From 18 BC to AD 475), but was renamed as Bukhansanju, Nampyeongyang in the year 475 when Goguryeo took over. It was once again changed to Hanju, Hanyang during the Silla Dynasty.

Seoul began to take its shape as a city when Namgyeong was established during the Goryeo Dynasty (1067), and the city’s foundation was finally laid as people began to migrate into the city after the completion of Namgyeong Temporary Palace in 1104. Seoul’s history as a city, not as ‘the capital,’ can retraced back 900 years. ‘Goryeosa (the History of Goryeo) records the attempt to relocate the capital (Gaegyeong) to Namgyeong towards the end of the Goryeo Dynasty and King Sukjong’s visit that involved the construction of a temporary palace. Unlike Hanseong of Baekje, which was situated near water (on the shore of the Han River), Namgyeong of the Goryeo Dynasty was built on the foot of a mountain according to the philosophy system of geomancy. Seoul finally obtained its appearance as ‘the capital’ in full-scale when the Joseon Dynasty designated it as its capital in 1394 (Refer to <Figure 3>).