Jongno District () is one of the 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea. It is the Downtown Seoul of Seoul that contains Gyeongbokgung, the main royal palace of the Joseon, and the Blue House, the former presidential residence. Jongno District has a high concentration of historical sites, many dating back to the Goryeo period. Places like Sungkyunkwan, Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, and Dongdaemun are all located within the area of the district.
Etymology
In Korean, the name '
Jongno' means Bell Street.
The Jongno District is named after the Jongno Road, which is a major trunk road running through the center of the district. The bell in question refers to
Bosingak belfry, which sits at Jonggak intersection, on Jongno Road.
Description
Jongno has been the center of the city for 600 years since it was where the
Joseon dynasty established its
Capital city. The district is commonly referred to as the face and heart of Korea because of its important roles in politics, economics, culture, and history as the capital city.
The district is home to palaces in which the kings used to reside and work, such as
Gyeongbokgung,
Changdeokgung,
Changgyeonggung, and
Unhyeongung. The South Korean president's former residence, the
Blue House, is also located in the Jongno District.
Jongno is a popular tourist destination with attractions that include the restored Cheonggyecheon stream, the traditional neighborhood of Insa-dong, the Confucian Jongmyo shrine, and Jogyesa, the chief temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism. The district is also home to the Gwanghwamun Plaza which includes the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin and a statue of King Sejong.
History
Hanyang
Jongno was historically the center of
Joseon and, later, the
Korean Empire. It retained its prominence in the modern era after the establishment of South Korea.
Seoul, the capital of Joseon, included Jongno and the Jung District.
In October 1394, King Taejo moved his capital from
Gaegyeong to Hanyang.
The capital of
Goryeo, Gaegyeong, had a strong base of traditional forces against King Taejo. In addition, the topography divination theory states that the new dynasty was unlucky due to its failure, and that it also moved to Hanyang with regard to water transport of rice and military geographical conditions. Following the relocation of the capital city, the Joseon government pushed for the construction of Hanyang, starting with the construction of Jongmyo,
Gyeongbokgung, and
Changdeokgung. In 1395, it was renamed as Hanyang Department. In 1399, the first year of King Jeongjong's reign, the capital was moved to Gagyeong as a result of the Prince's rebellion. In 1405, the fifth year of
King Taejong's reign, the capital was changed back to Hanyang. By
King Sejong's time, the city grew into a large city with about 200,000 people.
Economy
As the traditional heart of Seoul, Jongno's central location continues to attract both local and foreign businesses and remains an important business district. Notable companies based in Jongno include Kumho Asiana Group,
Kyobo Life,
Lotte Group,
SK Group, Hyundai Engineering & Construction, Daewoo E&C,
Daelim Group, and East Asia Daily. The district also features numerous major business centers and office buildings as well as diplomatic missions.
The headquarters of South Korean skincare retailer, The Face Shop, is located in the LG Gwanghwamun Building on Sinmunno 2-ga.
The head office of Air Seoul is in the Kumho Asiana Main Tower on Sinmunno 1-ga.[ Home. Air Seoul. Retrieved on 1 November 2016. "Kumho Asiana Main Tower,76, SaemunanRo Jongro Gu Seoul" – Korean address: "(우)03185 서울특별시 종로구 새문안로 76 금호아시아나 본관"]
Culture and tourism
Tourism plays a major role in Jongno's economy. Several of the most well-known attractions are located in the district, as is Gwanghwamun Plaza which attracts huge numbers of tourists every year given its central location. In addition, the tourist areas of
Insa-dong and Bukchon Hanok Village also attract huge numbers of visitors. Another popular tourist destination is
Gwangjang Market, previously called Dongdaemun Market. It is one of the oldest traditional markets in the country and is visited by approximately 65,000 each day.
Politics and government
Jongno is considered the most important district in South Korean politics as it is located in the heart of Seoul, and thus in the heart of South Korea.
The district was the home to the
Blue House (), the official residence of the president of South Korea, until 2022. It is also home to two of the three largest plazas in Seoul, the first being Gwanghwamun Plaza and the other being
Cheonggye Plaza, making the district the first constituency to appear in the National Election Commission's election statistics and exit polls for every nationwide election. Because of the district's political significance, every political party carefully selects its own candidate to run in every election and even most minor parties nominate their candidates to run in the district while they choose not to nominate candidates for other constituencies in Seoul.
Jongno has elected three presidents to represent it in the National Assembly: Yun Posun, Roh Moo-hyun and Lee Myung-bak. Although Jongno is a district, its residents are entitled to elect their own mayor and form their own district council, as 25 districts in Seoul——including Jongno——have city-equivalent status. The City of Seoul has province-equivalent status and its mayor is regarded as a cabinet-minister-level position. The mayorship is regarded as a higher position than all other provincial governors as these positions are regarded as deputy minister level positions.
The district has been traditionally regarded as a conservative stronghold in Seoul as Seoul natives and wealthy people used to form a majority in terms of resident numbers in towns such as Pyeongchang, Samcheong-dong, Sajik-dong, Jongro 1, and Jongro 4. However, as Democrats began to gradually gain power in the Sudogwon region in the 2010s and eventually made the region their stronghold, the party also gained power in the district due to the votes of Sungkyunkwan University students in Hyehwa-dong and residents of relatively lower income in towns such as Changsin-dong and Sungin-dong.
As of June 2020, the district was regarded as Democratic stronghold, as are many other constituencies in Seoul.
The conservative People Power Party made a comeback in the district when Choi Jae-hyung was elected as National Assembly member for Jongno in the March 2022 by-elections. In the subsequent local elections in June, Chung Moon-heon, a member of the same party, was elected mayor.
The headquarters of the Ministry of Security and Public Administration is located in the Seoul Government Complex in Jongno District.[" Location." ( Archive) Ministry of Security and Public Administration. Retrieved on 1 January 2013. "209 Sejong-daero(Sejong-ro), Jongno-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea"] The third and fourth floors of the same building house the Ministry of Unification.[" Location & Contact Info." ( Archive) Ministry of Unification. Retrieved on 1 January 2013. "Ministry of Unification Address: Government Complex – Seoul, 209 Sejong-daero(Sejong-ro). Jongno-gu, Republic of Korea"]
The headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is located in the MOFA Building in Jongno District.[" Location." ( Archive) Ministry of Foreign Affairs (South Korea). Retrieved on 1 January 2014. "Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 60, Sajik-ro 8-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea (110–787)"]
Previously, the Ministry of Education had its headquarters in the Central Government Complex in Jongno District.[" Contact Info ." ( Archive) The Globe Program. Retrieved on 1 January 2013. "Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development Central Government Complex, 77-6 Sejong-no, Jongno-gu Seoul, 110–760 South Korea"] The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also had its headquarters in Jongno District.[" Location." ( Archive) Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. 23 April 2012. Retrieved on 1 January 2014. "Address: 215 Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 110–360 Korea"] The Ministry of Health and Welfare had its headquarters in the Hyundai Group Building.[" Location." ( Archive) Ministry of Health and Welfare. Retrieved on 1 January 2014. "Ministry of Health & Welfare Hyundai Building 6~12 F" and "Ministry of Health & Welfare (MW): 75 Yulgok-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Korea 110-793, call center 129"] The offices of those ministries have moved to Sejong City. Before it merged into another ministry in 2008, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries was also located in Jongro-gu.
Diplomatic missions
Being at the center of the city, the district hosts the following foreign embassies.
District Council
The District Council serves administrative functions such as Foreign Seal Registration, International Marriage, Adoption, Acknowledgement reports and Alien Registration Certificates for foreigners residing in Jongno District. In 2022, the current mayor is .
Subdivisions
Those are some of the district administrative dongs (). For a complete list, see
here.
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Jongno-5.6 ga-dong (종로5.6가동 鍾路5.6街洞)
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Ihwa-dong (이화동 梨花洞)
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Hyehwa-dong (혜화동 惠化洞)
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Changsin 1-dong (창신1동 昌信洞)
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Changsin 2-dong (창신2동 昌信洞)
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Changsin 3-dong (창신3동 昌信洞)
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Sungin 1-dong (숭인1동 崇仁洞)
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Sungin 2-dong (숭인2동 崇仁洞)
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Attractions
Education
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Universities
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Catholic University of Korea, Songsin Campus (Private)
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Sangmyung University (Private)
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Sungkyunkwan University (Private)
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Seoul National University, Yeongeon Campus (Public)
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University of North Korean Studies (Private)
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High schools
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Kyungbock High School (Public)
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Seoul Arts High School (Private)
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Seoul Science High School (Public)
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International schools
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Lycée International Xavier (Private) : Available for both elementary and secondary education.
[" Contact." Lycée International Xavier. Retrieved on 22 May 2014. "23, BIBONG-GIL (151, GUGI-DONG), JONGNO-GU, 110-804 SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA" – Address in Korean: "서울특별시 종로구 비봉길 23 (구기동 151) (우)110-804"]
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Seoul Global High School (Public)
Sister cities
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From 1995, Dongcheng District, Beijing, People's Republic of China
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From 1996, Sükhbaatar District, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
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From 1999, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States
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From 2013, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico
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From 2015, Prague 1 Municipal District, Czech Republic
See also
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Geography of South Korea
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Subdivisions of South Korea
External links
