Dongnae Bu Government Office

The dongheon was the office of a Joseon-period magistrate, also called aheon, and was the second most important government facility after the Guest House, forming the centre of the various government buildings such as the Icheong (Clerks' Hall), Mucheong (Military Hall) and Hyangcheong (Local Gentry Hall). As the point of closest contact with Japan, Dongnae was regarded as the foremost strategic defence post on the Korean peninsula, and a walled town and government office were established there from an early date. In the Joseon period it was regarded as an even more important military stronghold: from the reign of King Taejo a garrison was stationed there, with the military commander concurrently serving as magistrate of the county, and in 1547, the twelfth year of King Myeongjong, it was elevated to a dohobu (superior county), with a magistrate of senior third rank appointed to govern it. In particular, after the Japanese invasions of 1592–98 the importance of Dongnae was recognised even more strongly, and in 1655, the sixth year of King Hyojong, it was separated from the Gyeongju military district and made an independent garrison, with the government office extensively restored. The government office of Dongnae-bu was frequently extended and rebuilt up to the period when the Daewongun held power; after the French invasion of 1866, the third year of Emperor Gojong, the walled town and government office were extensively extended and rebuilt, led by Magistrate Jeong Hyeon-deok, in preparation against Japanese invasion. However, in October 1910 the Japanese authorities erased Dongnae's long-standing status and legitimacy as an administrative centre, abolishing Dongnae-bu and downgrading it to Dongnae-gun, in order to promote Busanpo, where many Japanese resided. Chungsindang, the main building of the dongheon, was used as the office of Dongnae-gun during the Japanese colonial period, and after Dongnae-gun was incorporated into Yangsan-gun in 1973, it served as the eastern branch of the Yangsan-gun public health centre. The Dongnae-bu dongheon complex once comprised many government buildings, including Chungsindang together with Yeonsimdang and Dokgyeongdang on either side, Mangmiru (the gate tower), and the outer gate of the Dongnae-bu dongheon; during the Japanese colonial period all buildings except Chungsindang and Yeonsimdang were demolished, and Mangmiru and the outer gate were relocated to the area of Geumgang Park in Oncheon-dong. In 2014, Dokgyeongdang and Chanjuheon were restored and Mangmiru and the outer gate of the Dongnae-bu dongheon were moved back to their present site, and in 2015 Gomacheong was restored. The Dongnae-bu dongheon complex is not only a government facility embodying the status of the foremost defence post that handled the administration, national defence, diplomacy and trade of Busan (Dongnae) throughout the Joseon period, but also a historic site that encapsulates the history and culture of Joseon-period coastal defence, including the earliest realisation of a modernised walled-town construction, built in line with reform theories aimed at repelling Japanese pirate invasions.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Dongnae-gu, Busan

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물