Gwangju Castle

Gwangju Castle(Korean:광주읍성,Chinese character:光州邑城) was a castle in Gwangju of the Joseon period. According to the Gwangju Eupji(Korean:광주읍지,Chinese character:光州邑誌) published in 1879, it was built as a stone. It has 8253 circumference and 9 heights. The gates were Seowon Gate on the east, Gwangni Gate on the west, Jinnam Gate on the south, and Gongbuk Gate on the north.

History

Record

The first record of Gwangju Castle appears in the geography of Sejong Shilok, where it says 'Castle is built, it has a circumference of 972 steps', and there is no specific information such as when the building was built. Given the fact that the fortress was built in Naju and Boseong in preparation for the invasion of the Joseon Dynasty, the city of Gwangju is presumed to have been built around this time at the latest.

Destroy

As the Korean Empire began, Kwangju began to lose its past in earnest. The government-owned buildings located in Gwangju during the period were used as post offices (passway through Seomun Tongan) and hospitals (Seo Gi-cheong). The Gwangju City Wall, which is believed to have been the center of Gwangju for at least 500 years, gradually disappeared. In the case of walls, it is generally known that the Government-General of Korea began to demolish the wall in 1907, but some believe it had already collapsed before that.

The Hwangseong Shinmun, published on January 23, 1910 right before the Korea-Japan bombing, wrote, "An observer of the province has filed an internal petition for the use of civil materials that tore up the walls and gate of Gwangju." Numerous buildings in Gwangju Castle are believed to have been torn and dismantled by the Japanese imperialists during this period.

Symbol

Although we cannot see Gwangju Castle at present, there is a stone wall that reproduces the wall of Gwangju Castle at the National Asian Culture Hall in Gyeongju. The location of the stone wall was Jinnammun, a four-door south gate of Gwangju Castle in the past. The 999-kan, one of the Gwangju Folly, was originally located in Gongbuk-mun, a north gate, and the piece replaces the gate. And the gate-shaped sculpture located in front of the old back gate of Jeonnam Girls' High School symbolizes Seowon Gate, the same gate. The meaning of the introduction is to receive the auspicious energy of the east. Gwangrimun Gate, the preface to the location of the work "Currentization of Memory," located in the middle of the Colbox intersection floor. The work appears to have the names of four gates along the outline of Castle. Gwangnimun means to wish for all kinds of things and to the west of Gwangju and Gwangsan.

References

[http://gjeupseong.org/main/main.php Cyber Gwangju Eupsung(Korean:사이버 광주읍성)]

[http://www.heritage.go.kr/heri/idx/index.do National cultural heritage portal(In korea)(Korean:국가문화유산포털)]

also

Gwangju