First Public Exhibition of Namsan Hanyangdoseong Underground Ruins in Over 100 Years... Opening of the Ruins Exhibition Hall

Seoul City Preserves and Maintains 43,000㎡ Excavation Site in Its Original Condition

Hanyangdoseong Historic Site

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Hanyangdoseong Fortress ruins (Historic Site No. 10) at Namsan Hoehyeon Ridge, which had been buried underground and thought lost for over 100 years, will be opened to the public for the first time.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it has preserved and restored the Hanyangdoseong ruins in their excavated state and created the 'Hanyangdoseong Ruins Exhibition Hall' with a total floor area of approximately 43,000 square meters, which will be open to the public free of charge starting from the 12th.

The space and ruins being opened are the fortress walls around the Namsan Central Plaza. They compactly showcase layers of history spanning several centuries, from the construction of the Hanyangdoseong Fortress during the Joseon Dynasty, the damage suffered during the Japanese colonial period, urbanization after liberation, to recent excavation and restoration processes.

Since 2016, the city has been working on the basic design and, after about five years of preparation, is now opening this large-scale on-site exhibition hall. After a pilot operation, the indoor facility (Exhibition Information Center) will be completed by November next year, and formal operations will begin.

Visitors can walk along the viewing deck installed in the exhibition hall and observe the history of Hanyangdoseong and Seoul in chronological order. At the center of the exhibition hall, the Joseon Dynasty Hanyangdoseong fortress wall (built in 1396), approximately 189 meters long, catches the eye.

To the left of the missing section in the middle of the fortress wall is the site of the main hall of the Joseon Shrine (built in 1925), established by the Japanese as a means of colonial rule. Next to the site is the largest Namsan Fountain in Korea, built in 1969 after liberation. To the right of the missing section is an air-raid shelter installed during the Japanese colonial period, and at the end of the fortress wall, there is a stone engraved with inscriptions related to the fortress construction called 'Gakjaseongseok.'

The city explained that to preserve the Hanyangdoseong ruins intact in their excavated state, only minimal facilities such as protective structures and viewing decks were constructed. Additionally, an optimized viewing route was designed for easy access by anyone, and the protective structures (protective pavilions) use pillars and translucent lightweight roofing materials without exterior walls to fully protect the ruins while minimizing damage to the Namsan landscape.

The Hanyangdoseong Ruins Exhibition Hall is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. from March to October, and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from November to February. Along with the pilot operation of the exhibition hall, guided tours (in Korean and English) will be available at all times.

Location of Hanyangdoseong Relic Exhibition Hall

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.