"Traces of Korean War Bullets Remain" ... Hangang Bridge, Seoul's First Registered Cultural Heritage Site

Selected by Evaluating Preservation and Utilization Value of Seoul Future Heritage Over 50 Years
No. 2 is the 'Bosingak Front Subway Benchmark' Installed in 1970, No. 3 is the 'Old Statistics Office Cheongsa'

Seoul City Registered Cultural Heritage No. 1 'Hangang Bridge'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Three new "Seoul City Registered Cultural Properties" have been designated. On the 10th, Seoul City announced the registration of the Hangang Bridge, the subway benchmark point in front of Bosingak, and the former Statistics Bureau building (Seoul Senior Welfare Center) as Seoul City Registered Cultural Properties.

Seoul City Registered Cultural Properties are cultural assets that are not designated cultural properties but have been constructed, produced, or formed over 50 years ago and are deemed valuable for preservation and utilization in various fields such as Seoul's history, culture, daily life, economy, and religion. Following the city/province registered cultural property system implemented on December 25 last year, the city investigated public assets from Seoul's future heritage that are over 50 years old as the first target to discover modern and contemporary cultural heritage of significant historical and cultural importance to Seoul, and registered these three items as registered cultural properties.

The first Seoul City Registered Cultural Property is the "Hangang Bridge," which holds traces of Korea's modern history including the Japanese colonial period, the Korean War, and the industrialization of the 1980s. Completed in 1917, Hangang Bridge is the oldest pedestrian bridge over the Han River and bears bullet marks from the Korean War, serving as a living historical witness and a complex symbol of the development of Korea's bridge engineering. Although its original form was lost and altered due to floods and wars, it was installed at the site where King Jeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty placed a temporary bridge during his procession to Hwaseong, and it continues to connect the north and south of Seoul, making it highly valuable for preservation and utilization.

The second Seoul City Registered Cultural Property is the "Subway Benchmark Point in front of Bosingak," which was the starting point for the planning of Seoul Subway Line 1 constructed in the 1970s. In the 1960s, Seoul faced traffic congestion due to overpopulation and increased vehicles, leading to plans for subway construction to alleviate metropolitan traffic jams. The first subway construction began based on this benchmark point. The granite benchmark point, measuring 25 cm on each side and installed inside the Bosingak fence, has a brass nail 7 cm in diameter and 12 cm long embedded in the center, with the inscription "Metropolitan Area High-Speed Rail Benchmark Point. 1970.10.30." engraved in relief.

Seoul City Registered Cultural Property No. 2 'Bosingak Front Subway Benchmark'

The "Former Statistics Bureau Building," located in Gyeongun-dong, Jongno-gu, spanning from basement level 1 to the 3rd floor above ground, was designated as the third Seoul City Registered Cultural Property. Currently used as the Seoul Senior Welfare Center, this building is the work of Lee Hee-tae, Korea's first-generation architect. The building's facade facing the street was designed with a height-to-width ratio of 1 to 3, and further divided vertically and horizontally into thirds, creating rectangular units on the elevation. Although the interior space has undergone several modifications since its original state, it is highly valued for preservation as an early architectural work that helps understand the flow of modern Korean architecture after liberation.

Starting with these first to third registrations, Seoul City will continue to discover registered cultural properties among public assets, including real estate and movable properties, and once tax benefits for city/province registered cultural properties are established, it will also continuously discover registered cultural properties owned by individuals or corporations.

Kwon Soon-gi, head of the Seoul City Historical Cultural Properties Division, stated, "We will continue to register Seoul's cultural heritage with historical value as registered cultural properties to systematically preserve and utilize them, and to widely promote the value of 'Seoul, a city with 2,000 years of history.'"

Seoul City Registered Cultural Property No. 3, 'Old Statistics Bureau Building'

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