(For full 1,200 pixel glory, click here)
If I had to pick my five favorite buildings in Korea, this would certainly be one of them. I pass it nearly every single day, but neither its beauty nor power diminishes even the slightest.
Seoul CIty Hall, construction of which was completed in 1926, is a hard building to get a fix on architecturally. Many experts (including the one who wrote this history at “The History of Seoul” website) use the term “eclecticism” to describe its style. Others, including the very nice lady I called today at Seoul City’s Department of Cultural Properties, describe it as “Renaissance.”
Personally, I think the best way to describe it is “stripped classicism” (loved by totalitarian dictators worldwide in the 1930s) meets “art deco.” In many ways—not least the which being the pyramid-roofed tower on the roof—the building resembles the imposing National Diet Building in Tokyo, which was completed some 10 years later but designed at roughly the same time. Unlike other Seoul landmarks built in that era (such as Seoul Station and the late Seoul Capitol Building), it’s starkly devoid of decorative details. Its starkness, its row upon row of windows, its intimidating, almost menacing presence… it’s a building Albert Speer no doubt would have loved. Feel the power!
Like the Seoul Capitol Building, which was demolished amidst much nationalist fanfare in 1996, Seoul City Hall has long been the source of controversy. University of Seoul professor Son Jeong-mok, cited in the book Shameful Cultural Exploration, claimed the Japanese had selected the location of the building to block the energy (gi) of the area around the Daehanmun Gate of the Deoksugung Palace, the site of intense anti-Japanese protests throughout the late Daehan Empire/early colonial periods, especially after the death of King Gojong at the Deoksugung Palace in 1919 and the subsequent March 1 Independence Movement.
One of the more persistent rumors, of course, is that that the structure was intentionally designed in the shape of one of the Chinese characters in the word “Great Japan” (Mt. Bugaksan and Seoul Capitol representing the other two). So persistent is this rumor, in fact, that it was cited by city authorities as one of the reasons for dismantling the complex’s Taepyeong Hall as part of the city’s plan to construct a new city hall complex.
Cultural property experts, however, say this claim is rubbish, and are criticizing the city for essentially defacing a registered cultural property to make way for its construction plans. One expert cited a 1926 document by Sasa Keiichi, an official who participated in the design of the building as part of the Government-General’s architecture department. He said the structure resembled the Chinese character for “arrow,” not the one for Japan. He also noted that the building plan changed several times as road development nearby forced architects to change the location of the new building, indicating that the structure wasn’t designed with any particular Chinese character in mind.
Even the head of the city team pushing the construction of the new city hall complex responded to the criticism by agreeing that he knew of no documentary evidence that the building was built to resemble any particular Chinese character. He also said the decision to remove the Taepyeong Hall would be made after the Cultural Properties Administration deliberated on the city’s construction plan.
Here’s an old picture taken during the colonial era of the City Hall that’s worth a look.
And as an added bonus, here’s another panorama I shot on Sunday from in front of the Gwanghwamun Gate:
(Full 1,200 px version here)
This view will also change dramatically after work gets underway on the central government’s bid to register Seoul as a UNSECO World Historic City.
11 Comments
I’ve spent time scratching my head looking at that building on Google Earth and trying to work out how in god’s name it looks like the character 本. So it’s good to know that this is a genuine urban myth and not just my inability to turn my head around to the correct angle to see what everyone else is talking about. That’s not to say that the Japanese didn’t have something of a penchant for writing with buildings as we know from the old Capitol building and from government buildings in Taipei.
I’d poured over photos of the building, too, trying to figure out what the hell people were talking about, and I never got it, either.
It had the shape of the Chinese character “日’’ which was part of the word “Japan (日本).’’ — Korea Times — but of course, most buildings look kind of square-shaped, eh? Wish I could’ve seen it…
City Hall is one of my favorite buildings in Seoul… I just hope it remains imposing and austere-looking forever…
Nice pics, Robert. One of these days I’m going to “borrow” one of your panoramas for a header image :).
Take a look at the image from Naver that shows how 本 and 弓 are supposed to fit over the building…
I personally think the 弓 claim is even more ridiculous then the 本 one. When I look at it, I see a symmetrical building.
Japan long recognized European architectural style practically demanded symmetries. To me, this looks like a Japanese government building that conforms to European government building standards. But what do I know, I only studied architecture in America and Design in Japan.
Funny, that building is one of my least favorites. My favorite work in Seoul is Namsan Park, especially the stairways and seating areas between Myeongdong and the library. I also like the overall Namsan Road experience - the south side between the Hilton and Hyatt is the best drive in town.
It certainly is. And I never liked Seoul City Hall very much either;
too squat and dictatorship-monumental looking. From that era,
Seoul Train Station is definitely my favorite…
Since when are urban myths insufficient evidence to condemn Japan?
The Seoul Station remodel had a lot of potential, then they bunged it up by adding a shopping mall that looks like it was designed by Darth Vader.
The Bank of Korea building is not outstanding but it’s not too bad either:
http://numismondo.com/pm/kor/K.....lock3r.jpg (on some old money)
I used to pass the City Hall building everyday for a year and a half, and was never quite sure what to think of it. On the one hand, I felt it looked ugly; on the other, it has an architectural unity that is very different from most other buildings around. Nice pictures, Robert, in any case. My own favorite building in Seoul is actually the 63 building. I’m no art critic, but it seems intended to look “futuristic”–as this concept might have envisioned a few decades ago. The Press Building (or whatever they call that thin, glass building with the cylendrical end that sits at some point between the Kyobo Building and City Hall) is easy on the eyes. I also like the Bank of Korea building, as one commenter mentioned, and an older building behind Unhyeongung. In terms of non-traditional Korean buildings, I have always found the city a substantial disappointment. On the other hand, there’s a lot of eye-candy on the sidewalks.
I’ve noticed people complaining about the removal of the back of city hall, but that part wasn’t built by the Japanese - it’s not present in this 1945 aerial photo. When I found out it was being demolished a month or so before the elections back in May, I wondered if it was a ploy to block Kang Kum-sil’s plans to move city hall to Yongsan by presenting the city with a fait accompli and giving Kang and Uri less room to manouvre in their plans for the city’s development (here are some earlier plans for the new city hall)
A question about the city hall site however - does anyone know what this building (built on city hall’s site - it’s a 1912 photo) was?