Introduction to Dongdaemun-gu: History

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By The Korean Today London

Dongdaemun-gu , located in the eastern part of the capital city of Seoul, gets its name from the fact that the area is located outside of Dongdaemun (commonly known as Heungin-gu), one of the four main gates of the capital city, meaning that it is located to the east of Dongdaemun .

History before 1900

With the move of the capital to Hanyang by King Taejo of Joseon, the administrative districts of Hanseongbu (漢城府) were divided into five bu () of Dong () , Seo (西) , Nam (), Buk (), and Jung () , which were further subdivided into 52 bang () . Of these, the 12 bangs in the east were 10 bangs within the castle and 2 bangs outside the castle . The two bangs outside the castle were Sungsinbang (崇信) and Inchangbang (仁昌坊) , and included not only today’s Dongdaemun-gu but also parts of Seongbuk-gu , Dobong-gu , and Seongdong-gu .

In 1894, the 31st year of King Gojong’s reign , many dongni (villages) were incorporated into a single clan due to the Gabo Reform . Sinseoldong , Sinri , Usan , and Gakri belonged to the Dongmun Outside Clan of the Dongseo () Sungsinbang , while most of today’s Dongdaemun-gu, including Jegi ri , Yongdu -ri, Jeonong-ri, Dapsimni, Cheongnyangni , Hoemyo dong , Hwigyeongwon , and Imun-dong , belonged to the Dongbu Inchangbang Dongsomun Outside Clan .

History before 1940s

In 1910 , under the pretext of the unification of Korea and Japan , Japan changed the name of Hanseongbu to Genso (京城) by discarding the last letter of their capital , Tokyo , and the first letter of Joseon ‘s capital , Hanseong (漢城) .

The following year, on April 1 , 1911 , when the Japanese reorganized Gyeongseong-bu into 5 bu () and 8 myeon () , the bang () in the former extramural area was changed to myeon () , and Sungsin-bang became Sungsin-myeon and Inchang-bang became Inchang-myeon . Accordingly, Singyeol-seol and others were included in Gyeongseong- bu Sungsin-myeon , and Yongdu-ri , Jegi- ri , Jeondong ri , Dapsimni , Cheongnyangni , Hoemyo dong , Hwigyeongwon , and Imun-dong were included in Gyeongseong bu Inchang-myeon .

Then, in 1936 , when the Japanese expanded the Gyeongseong-bu area, Sungin-myeon of Goyang-gun was incorporated into Gyeongseong-bu again , and at this time, all of the dongmyeong ( neighborhoods ) in Seoul were divided into Dongdaemun-gu and Seongdong-gu . At that time, the towns ( towns ) belonging to Dongdaemun-gu were Changsin , Sungin , Shinseol , Anam , Jongam , Donam , Yongdu , Jegi , Cheongnyang , Hoegi , Imun , Hwigyeong , Jeonong , and Dapsimni , making a total of 14 towns ( towns ) , and in November of the following year , Seongbuk-dong was incorporated, making a total of 15 towns ( towns ) .

On September 28 , 1946, Gyeongseong-bu was promoted to Seoul Special Free City , and on October 1 of that year , the Japanese-style neighborhood names such as jeong (), tong (), and jeongmok (丁目) were changed to dong (), ro (), and ga () , and on August 13 , 1949 , with the establishment of Seongbuk -gu, the jurisdiction of Dongdaemun-gu was reduced .

History to date

In April 1955, the dong system was implemented according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government Ordinance , and 21 administrative dongs were created as administrative districts according to the Local Autonomy Act . In 1936 , as Seoul expanded its districts, many areas of Gyeonggi-do were incorporated into Seoul . At that time, Dongdaemun-gu was greatly expanded by incorporating Sangbong-ri , Junghwa-ri , Mukdong-ri , Sinnae -ri , and Mangwoo-ri in Guri-myeon, Yangju-gun , Gyeonggi-do .

On October 1 , 1975, there was a change in the districts of Seoul, and Changsin-dong, Sungin-dong, and Shinseol-dong in Dongdaemun-gu were renamed .

Parts of Buga-dong , Myeonmok dong, Yongdu-dong , and Dapsimni-dong were incorporated into Seongdong-gu, and parts of Bomun-dong and Sinseol-dong were incorporated into Seongbuk-gu . Instead , parts of Junggok-dong , Neung dong, and Gunja-dong in Seongdong-gu were incorporated into Dongdaemun-gu ( which created Jangan-dong ), and parts of Jongam-dong , Anam-dong , and Seokgwan dong in Seongbuk-gu were incorporated into Dongdaemun-gu . Ultimately, the number of administrative dongs in Dongdaemun-gu was reduced from 36 to 32 .

On January 1 , 1988 , the districts of Gu with a population of over 760,000 were readjusted , and at that time, Myeonmok dong, Sangbong- dong , Junghwa dong, Muk- dong , Mangwoo dong , and Sinnae -dong, which were under the jurisdiction of Dongdaemun-gu, came under the jurisdiction of the newly established Jungnang -gu , and Dongdaemun-gu consists of 10 legal dongs and 14 administrative dongs, including Sinseol dong , Yongdu dong , Jegi-dong, Jeonong-dong, Dapsimni-dong , Jangan dong , Hoegi-dong, Cheongnyangni-dong , Hwigyeong-dong , and Imun-dong today .

Dongdaemun-gu is located in the eastern part of Seoul, bordering Jungnang-gu to the east across Jungnangcheon Stream , Seongbuk gu and Jongno-gu to the west, Seongdong-gu to the south , and Dobong-gu to the north .

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