Central Post Office, Seoul

This was the government office responsible for postal affairs in the late Joseon period. It was established in 1884, and that October it began the country's first postal operations. The system was structured with a Central Post Office (Ujeong Chongguk) at the centre and local post offices in the provinces, but the Central Post Office was closed following the failure of the Gapsin Coup. Postal work resumed in 1893 under the name Jeonu Chongguk, and continued through a succession of bodies including the postal bureau of the Gongmu Amun, the communications department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Commerce and Industry, and the Tongsinwon. The building has five bays across the front and three along the side, with a hip-and-gable roof whose profile resembles the character for "eight" (八). It now serves as the Postal Museum, and parts of it have been altered to suit that use, so it no longer fully retains its original appearance. Stamps, documents and other artefacts are preserved inside. This building holds great significance as the historic site where Korea's postal system was introduced in modern form for the first time, opening both domestic and international mail services, and it carries high historical value as the place where the opening ceremony of the Central Post Office became the occasion for the Progressive Party to launch the Gapsin Coup.

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Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Historic Site · 사적