Former Main Building of Seoul National University

Completed in 1931, during the Japanese colonial period, this building was the main hall of the former Gyeongseong Imperial University, and after 1945 was used as the main building of Seoul National University. After the university moved to its Gwanak Campus in 1972, the building has been used as Arts Council Korea's Artists' House. Gyeongseong Imperial University began when, after the Preparatory Committee for a Joseon People's University was formed with Yi Sang-jae as its representative following the March First Independence Movement, the Japanese, in order to block this move, promulgated the Gyeongseong Imperial University Ordinance and recruited students for a preparatory course, opening the Faculty of Law and Letters and the Faculty of Medicine in 1926. The main building is a three-storey brick structure designed by Park Gil-lyong, a pioneer of modern Korean architecture, and built by the Japanese firm Miyakawa-gumi. The plan is rectangular, and the roofline is refined and elegant. Although some of the entrances have arches in a classical style, the building is generally of a modern character, avoiding imitation of past architectural styles, and it is the only surviving building among those Seoul National University once had in Jongno-gu.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Historic Site · 사적