Seoul, the capital of South Korea, has been called by a number of formal and informal names over time.
It was called Wiryeseong (위례성;慰禮城) or Hanseong (한성;漢城) in the Baekje period (18 BC – 660 AD), Bukhansangun (Korean : 북한산군; Hanja : 北漢山郡) in the Goguryeo period (37 BC – 668 AD), Hanyang in the Northern and Southern States period (698–926), Namgyeong (남경;南京) in the Goryeo period (918–1392), Hanyangbu (한양부;漢陽府) under Mongol rule (1270–1356), and Hanseong (한성;漢城) or Hanyang (한양;漢陽) in the Joseon period (1392–1897).
During the Joseon era, it started to be called Seoul by the public. In the middle of Joseon era, Hanseong and Hanyang were almost replaced by Seoul and remained only formal names. [1] During the period of Japanese colonial rule, Seoul was referred to by the Japanese exonym Keijō (京城), or the Korean reading of that name Gyeongseong. After World War II and Korea's liberation, the city officially adopted its current name. [2]
Seoul is a rendering of the Korean word 서울, pronounced [səˈul]. An etymological hypothesis is that the origin of the native word 서울 derives from the native name Seorabeol (서라벌;徐羅伐), [3] which originally referred to Gyeongju, the capital of Silla, which was then called Geumseong (금성;金城). [4]
Gyeongseong | |
Hunminjeongeum | 경성 |
---|---|
Hanja | 京城 |
Revised Romanization | Gyeongseong |
McCune–Reischauer | Kyŏngsŏng |
"Gyeongseong" is a Sino-Korean word for "capital city". Gyeong (경;京) means "capital" and seong (성;城) means "walled city". It was in occasional use to refer to Seoul throughout the Joseon dynasty, [5] [6] having earlier referred to the capitals of Goryeo and Silla. The term came into much wider use during the period of Japanese rule because it is also the Korean form of Keijō (京城),the former Japanese name,which was used for Seoul during the colonial rule.
Seoul was called "Hanseong" (漢城) or "Hanyang" (漢陽) during the Joseon dynasty but the city's main railway station,Seoul Station,opened with the name "Gyeongseong Station" (京城驛) in 1900,which it retained until 1905. [7] It was then called Gyeongseong Station again from 1923 to 1947,when it assumed its current name. [8] [9]
Gyeong is still used to refer to Seoul in the names of various railway lines and freeways,including:
Unlike most other place names in Korea,"Seoul" has no corresponding Hanja (Chinese characters used to write the Korean language). This has caused problems in translating between Chinese and Korean,as Chinese terms for Korean places often are a direct reading of the Hanja names. Until recently,some Chinese sources used the older name "Hanseong" (한성;漢城) to refer to Seoul,as that term does have corresponding Hanja. [10]
However,this led to some confusion. For example,the name of Seoul National University (서울대학교;서울大學校) would be rendered as "Hanseong University",but there already is a university that goes by that exact reading in Chinese:Hansung University (한성대학교;漢城大學校). [10]
Beginning in 2005,the Seoul City Government under Lee Myung-bak designated a new Chinese term for Seoul:Chinese :首爾; Chinese :首尔; pinyin :Shǒu'ěr. [11] [12] The name was chosen by a select committee out of two names,the other being 首午爾;Shǒuwu'ěr. [12]
The chosen name is a close transliteration of Seoul in Mandarin Chinese; 首 (shǒu) can also mean "first" or "capital". For some time after the name change,Chinese-language news media have used both names interchangeably during their publications or broadcasts (首爾[漢城] in print, [13] 首爾,以前的漢城 [literally:Shouer,formerly Hancheng] in television and radio). [14]
The change was intended for Chinese speakers only,and has no effect on the Korean language name. The new name would be written and pronounced 수이;Sui in Korean. [12] Some linguists criticize the selection of the new name,claim that its pronunciation in Korean bears no resemblance to the native name at all,and state that its intended representation of the Korean pronunciation is effective in Mandarin but is lost in other regional dialects,such as in Cantonese,in which the name is pronounced "sau2 yi5",or in Shanghainese,in which the new name (首爾) is pronounced "sew2 el3." Those critics have said that the names "西蔚" or "徐蔚" (the latter being the ancient name of Seoul) would have been much more effective in representing the city's Korean name.[ citation needed ]
On a 1751 map of China and Korea prepared in France,Seoul was marked as "King-Ki-Tao,Capitale de la Corée",using an approximation of the Chinese pronunciation of Gyeonggi Province (京畿道). The use of "King-Ki-Tao" to refer to Seoul was repeated again on the 1851 Tallis/Rapkin map of both Japan and Korea. [15]
Korea has had administrative districts that can be considered provinces since the 7th century. These divisions were initially called ju in Unified Silla and Later Baekje, and there were nine in total. After Goryeo conquered these states in the 10th century, twelve divisions called mok were established, although they were reorganized into ten do in the 11th century.
Gyeonggi-do is the most populous province in South Korea.
The Gyeongbu line (Gyeongbuseon) is a railway line in South Korea and is considered to be the most important and one of the oldest in the country. It was constructed in 1905, connecting Seoul with Busan via Suwon, Daejeon, and Daegu. It is by far the most heavily travelled rail line in South Korea.
Seoul Station (Korean: 서울역) is a major railway station in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. The station is served by the Korail Intercity Lines and the commuter trains of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway.
The history of Seoul can be traced back as far as 18 BC, although humans have occupied the area now known as Seoul since the Paleolithic Age. It has been the capital of numerous kingdoms on the Korean Peninsula since it was established.
Hancheng (韩城市) is a county-level city of Shaanxi, China.
Seoul, officially Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Capital Area, encompassing Gyeonggi province and Incheon metropolitan city, emerged as the world's fourth largest metropolitan economy in 2014, trailing only Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles, hosting more than half of South Korea's population. Although Seoul's population peaked at slightly over 10 million, it has gradually decreased since 2014, standing at approximately 9.97 million residents as of 2020. Seoul is the seat of the South Korean government.
Hansŏng sunbo was the first modern native Korean newspaper. It was published in Seoul, Joseon from 1883 to 1884. It was written in Classical Chinese. It is not the first newspaper to be published in Korea; that was the 1881 Chōsen Shinpō, which was primarily written in both Japanese and Classical Chinese.
The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1885, also known as the Treaty of Hanseong with Hanseong being a historical name for Seoul, was negotiated between Japan and Korea following an unsuccessful coup d'état in the Korean capital in December 1884.
The King of Legend is a 2010 South Korean historical drama based on King Geunchogo of Baekje. Besides historical information from Samguk Sagi and Samguk Yusa, it was also inspired by a novel written by Lee Munyeol, a renowned Korean writer. The drama aired on KBS1 in Korea, and internationally through KBS World.
The Kyungsung FC–Pyongyang FC rivalry, commonly known as the Kyung-Pyong Football Series, was a football rivalry in the early 20th century between Seoul and Pyongyang which are currently capital of South Korea and North Korea. The clash between Korea's two biggest cities was considered as the biggest rivalry in Korea. Seoul and Pyongyang developed historical rivalry for over a century, and their football teams were no exception.
Seongjeosimni was the peripheral area of Joseon's capital city, Hanseongbu (한성부), literally meaning areas 10 Ri around the Fortress Wall of Seoul. Though this area was outside of the Fortress Wall, clearly it was a suburb area within city limits of the Hanseongbu. While it was mainly a residential area, some of its components took important role in Joseon's governmental functions, including diplomacy and defense.
Lee Young-min was a South Korean versatile sportsman who played in football, baseball and athletics.
Fu is a traditional administrative division of Chinese origin used in the East Asian cultural sphere, translated variously as commandery, prefecture, urban prefecture, or city. They were first instituted as a regular form of administrative division of China's Tang Empire, but were later adopted in Vietnam, Japan and Korea. At present, only two fu still remain: the prefectures of Kyoto and Osaka in Japan.
Gyeonggi, alternatively spelled Kyŏnggi or Kyunggi, is a region of the Korean Peninsula that has historically occupied the west-central region of Korea. In modern times, the region hosts South Korea's Gyeonggi Province and Incheon Metropolitan City, and North Korea's Kaesong Industrial Region, and Changpung, and Ch'ŏrwŏn counties.
The Chōsen Government Railway was a state-owned railway company in Korea during Japanese rule. It was also colloquially known by the abbreviated name Sentetsu (鮮鐵). It was the operational division of the Railway Bureau of the Government-General of Chōsen, which managed and operated railways in Chōsen, as well as supervised privately owned railway companies.
Seoul Overseas Chinese High School or Hanseong Chinese Middle and High School is a Republic of China (Taiwan)-oriented Chinese international junior and senior high school in Seodaemun District, Seoul, South Korea. It follows the curriculum of the ROC, and accordingly uses textbooks from Taiwan.
Keijō (京城), or Gyeongseong (Korean: 경성), was an administrative district of Korea under Japanese rule that corresponds to the present Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
The Keijin Railway LP, was a privately owned railway company in the Korean Empire.