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 Interactive map of Dongdaemun Stadium | |
| Former names | Gyeongseong Stadium Seoul Stadium |
|---|---|
| Location | Euljiro 7(chil)-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul, Korea |
| Coordinates | 37°34′03″N127°00′38″E / 37.56758°N 127.010595°E /37.56758; 127.010595 |
| Capacity | 22,706 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 24 May 1925 |
| Opened | 15 October 1925[1] |
| Expanded | 1962, 1966, 1968 |
| Closed | 2003 |
| Demolished | 2008 |
| Tenants | |
| Ilhwa Chunma (1989–1995) LG Cheetahs (1990–1995) Yukong Elephants (1991–1995) | |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 동대문운동장 |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Dongdaemun undongjang |
| McCune–Reischauer | Tongdaemun undongjang |
Dongdaemun Stadium (Korean: 동대문운동장) was asports complex inSeoul, South Korea, with amulti-purpose stadium,a baseball park and other sports facilities. It was located nearDongdaemun or Great East Gate. The surrounding Dongdaemun market had many vendors selling athletics-related goods. It was demolished in 2008 to make way for theDongdaemun Design Plaza & Park.
Construction on the main athletics stadium and baseball field began on 24 May 1925 and was opened for use on 15 October 1925 asKeijō Stadium. The venue was the main center for sports events in the city, and along withKirim Stadium inPyongyang, it was one of the two venues used in the Gyeongsung-Pyongyang inter-citysoccer tournament in the 1930s.
The stadium was the location for mass celebrations of the end of Japanese colonial rule, as almost 250,000 citizens gathered at the venue on 15 August 1945, to celebrate the liberation of the peninsula.[2]
Additional construction was undertaken in 1962 to modernize the two existing venues as well as to create a swimming pool, volleyball courts and soft clay tennis courts. Floodlights were added to the baseball venue in 1966 and to the athletics venue in 1968 to allow for nighttime sporting events.
Before its demolition, the athletics stadium was used as a flea market where all types of new and second-hand goods were sold. It formed part of the massive Dongdaemun shopping district, which had been active for 57 years.
The mainmulti-purpose stadium remained the main center for sports events in Seoul until theSeoul Sports Complex was built for the1988 Olympic Games. It was the home venue for theSouth Korea national football team from the 1950s to the late 1980s, though it continued to be used into the 1990s until the last international match was played there, againstMyanmar in 2000.
The 30,000-seat main stadium also hosted somefootball matches including the quarter-finals at the1988 Summer Olympics and many matches of theKorea Cup, an international football competition.[3]
The inaugural match of theK League, the first professional football league in South Korea, was held at the athletics venue on 8 May 1983.Ilhwa Chunma (currentlySeongnam FC),LG Cheetahs (currentlyFC Seoul), andYukong Elephants (currentlyJeju United FC) were based at the stadium until 1995, but with thedecentralization policy in K League, they relocated away to their current stadiums in 1996.
The inaugural match of theKorean baseball league was held atDongdaemun Baseball Stadium in 1982.[citation needed]
| Seoul Sports Complex | |
|---|---|
| Olympic Park | |
| New venues | |
| Football venues | |
| Existing venues | |
37°34′03″N127°00′38″E / 37.56758°N 127.010595°E /37.56758; 127.010595
