8 New 'Treasure' Designations for Central and Local Government Office Buildings from the Joseon Dynasty

Jongchinbu Gyeonggeundang and Okcheopdang

The Cultural Heritage Administration (Administrator Kim Hyun-mo) has designated eight government office architectural heritage sites, including the Seoul Metropolitan City Tangible Cultural Property ‘Jongchinbu Gyeonggeundang and Okcheopdang’ and the Daegu Metropolitan City Tangible Cultural Property ‘Daegu Gyeongsang Gamyeong Seonhwadang (宣化堂)’, as nationally designated cultural treasures.

The newly designated government office heritage sites include one in Seoul, one in Daegu, three in Gyeonggi Province, two in Gangwon Province, and one in Gyeongsangnam Province. In terms of administrative structure, there is one central government office, three local government offices including Gamyeong (the administrative space of the provincial governor) and Dongheon (the local official’s office space), two Gaeksa (guesthouses housing the king’s symbols), and two military government offices within Namhansanseong. For reference, there are currently a total of five government office buildings designated as National Treasures and Treasures, all of which are Gaeksa buildings.

Government office architecture refers to buildings constructed during the dynastic era where officials gathered to manage state affairs. In the Joseon Dynasty, which established a centralized administrative system, local administrative cities nationwide built government office buildings centered around Dongheon, and their numbers were considerable, but very few remain today. Most of the surviving government offices are located in the provinces, and since the Japanese colonial period, many have been repurposed as schools or other facilities, resulting in significant alterations. In particular, only three buildings remain of the government offices that were once in Hanseongbu (漢城府).

The designation of these government office architectural heritage sites as Treasures is notable for several reasons: ▲ they provide insight into the form of late Joseon central government office buildings; ▲ it is the first time that Seonhwadang, the main hall (Jeongdang) of Gamyeong where the provincial governor was dispatched and worked, and Dongheon, the local official’s office in the eup administrative district, have been designated as Treasures among local government offices; ▲ and the military government office buildings within Namhansanseong, which played historically important roles during wartime and served as spaces for lessons for later generations, have been designated.

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