The origin of the name, Seoul
Some interesting facts about Seoul
Seoul is a beautiful name as the city itself. Korean admire the city and love the name, Seoul.
Seoul has been called by several names from thousands years ago. 'Han-yang', 'Han-seong', 'Gyeong-seong' are the old names of Seoul and they are still understood as 'Seoul' to people in Korea until nowdays.
The Hotel Shilla <자료: 호텔신라>1. 'Seoul' was originally a proper noun referring to the 'capital'
There is a 5-star luxury hotel named 'The Shilla Hotel' in the middle of Seoul. Seoul people love the hotel very much and it's now one of hotels that represent Seoul.
'Shilla' is a name of the ancient kingdom of Korea that lasted for a thousand years and its cultural heritage still continues to the present day. When the kingdom was established, the national name was called by several names such as Seorabeol, Sera and Saro. And these names became the words referring to the capital, and they became the words of today's Seoul.
Lotte World Tower in Sonpa district, Seoul <자료: 시그니엘서울>2. Seoul has been the capital of 'Baekje' for 500 years from B.C.
Seoul has been the capital of "Baekje", the other ancient kingdom of Korea for 500 years.(B.C. 18 ~ A.D. 475) The earthen ramparts still remains in Songpa district, the east part of Seoul in which Lotte World Tower is. The kingdom city was called "Han-seong" or "Wirye-seong" and the name is still used as a name of a town in Songpa district, Wirye.
Hanyangdoseong in Seoul <자료: VisitSeoul>3. The old name of Seoul was called 'Han-yang'
Right before Seoul became Seoul, Seoul was called 'Hanyang'. The name Hanyang first appeared in 1308, during the Goryeo Dynasty from which the name of Korea originated. (FYI 'Hanyang' was not the capital of Gorye Dynasty)
This name is still used in various fields such as 'Hanyang university', 'Hanyang-road'. Also as the old name of "Seoul", "Hanyang" is a familiar word to Korean.
Gwanghwamun, the center of Seoul of Joseon dynasty <자료: 서울시>4. Finally Seoul became the capital city of Joseon in 1394.
After Goryeo Dynasty, Joseon Dynasty was founded in 1394, and Seoul was set up as the capital city. The official name of Joseon's Seoul was 'Han-seong' but it was also called as 'Han-yang', 'Gyeong-seong' or 'Gyeong-do'.
Interestingly most of the names that were called for Seoul have come of age for thousands years and still used these days in various fields.
The landscape of Seoul in 1946, after the liberation <자료: 부경근대사료연구소>5. Seoul got its name as official in 1946, after the liberation
Right after the liberation, Seoul was still called by several names. Even it was written by different names on official documents. A years after the liberation, the name 'Seoul' got fixed as an administrative agency and in 1949, after current Korean government was established, 'Seoul' got its official name by the Local Government Act.
