Jongno 종로구 | |
|---|---|
| 종로구 · 鐘路區 | |
 Gyeongbokgung, withBugaksan in the background | |
 Flag  Seal | |
 Location of Jongno District inSeoul | |
 Interactive map of Jongno | |
| Coordinates:37°35′58″N126°58′29″E / 37.59944°N 126.97472°E /37.59944; 126.97472 | |
| Country | South Korea |
| Region | Sudogwon |
| Special City | Seoul |
| Administrative dong | 19 |
| Government | |
| • Body | Jongno-gu Council |
| • Mayor | Chung Moon-heon (People Power) |
| • MNA | Choi Jae-hyung (People Power) |
| Area | |
• Total | 23.92 km2 (9.24 sq mi) |
| Population (September 2024[1]) | |
• Total | 138,879 |
| • Density | 5,806/km2 (15,040/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+9 (Korea Standard Time) |
| Postal code | 03000~03299 |
| Area code | 02-300,700 |
| Website | Jongno District official website |
Jongno District (Korean: 종로구;RR: Jongno-gu) is one of the25 districts ofSeoul, South Korea. It is thehistoric center of Seoul that containsGyeongbokgung, the main royalpalace of theJoseon dynasty, and theBlue House, the formerpresidential residence. Jongno District has a high concentration of historical sites, many dating back to theGoryeo period. Places likeSungkyunkwan,Gyeongbokgung,Changdeokgung, andDongdaemun are all located within the area of the district.
In Korean, the name 'Jongno' means Bell Street.[2] The Jongno District is named after the Jongno Road, which is a major trunk road running through the center of the district. The bell in question refers toBosingak belfry, which sits at Jonggak intersection, on Jongno Road.[3]
Jongno has been the center of the city for 600 years since it was where theJoseon dynasty established itscapital. The district is commonly referred to as the face and heart of Korea because of its important roles in politics, economics, culture, and history as the capital city.[4] The district is home to palaces in which the kings used to reside and work, such asGyeongbokgung,Changdeokgung,Changgyeonggung, andUnhyeongung. The South Korean president's former residence, theBlue House, is also located in the Jongno District.[4]
Jongno is a popular tourist destination with attractions that include the restoredCheonggyecheon stream, the traditional neighborhood ofInsa-dong, the ConfucianJongmyo shrine, andJogyesa, the chief temple of theJogye Order of Korean Buddhism. The district is also home to theGwanghwamun Plaza which includes thestatue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin and astatue of King Sejong.[5][6][7] The district has a number of museums includingArt Center Nabi andGahoe Museum and is home to the main campuses ofSungkyunkwan University andBaewha Women's University.
Jongno was historically the center ofJoseon and, later, theKorean Empire. It retained its prominence in the modern era after the establishment of South Korea.Hanyang, the capital of Joseon, included Jongno and theJung District.In October 1394,King Taejo moved his capital fromGaegyeong to Hanyang.[8] The capital ofGoryeo, Gaegyeong, had a strong base of traditional forces against King Taejo. In addition, the topography divination theory states that the new dynasty was unlucky due to its failure, and that it also moved to Hanyang with regard to water transport of rice and military geographical conditions. Following the relocation of the capital city, the Joseon government pushed for the construction of Hanyang, starting with the construction of Jongmyo,Gyeongbokgung, andChangdeokgung. In 1395, it was renamed as Hanyang Department. In 1399, the first year ofKing Jeongjong's reign, the capital was moved to Gagyeong as a result of the Prince's rebellion. In 1405, the fifth year ofKing Taejong's reign, the capital was changed back to Hanyang. ByKing Sejong's time, the city grew into a large city with about 200,000 people.
As the traditional heart of Seoul, Jongno's central location continues to attract both local and foreign businesses and remains an important business district. Notable companies based in Jongno includeKumho Asiana Group,Kyobo Life,Lotte Group,SK Group,Hyundai Engineering & Construction,Daewoo E&C,Daelim Group, andEast Asia Daily. The district also features numerous major business centers and office buildings as well as diplomatic missions.
The head office ofAir Seoul is in theKumho Asiana Main Tower onSinmunno 1-ga.[9]
Tourism plays a major role in Jongno's economy. Several of the most well-known attractions are located in the district, as isGwanghwamun Plaza which attracts huge numbers of tourists every year given its central location. In addition, the tourist areas ofInsa-Dong andBukchon Hanok Village also attract huge numbers of visitors. Another popular tourist destination isGwangjang Market, previously called Dongdaemun Market. It is one of the oldest traditional markets in the country and is visited by approximately 65,000 each day.[10][11]
Jongno is considered the most importantdistrict inSouth Korean politics as it is located in the heart of Seoul, and thus in the heart of South Korea.[12][13] The district was the home to theBlue House (Cheongwadae), the official residence of thepresident of South Korea, until 2022. It is also home to two of the three largest plazas in Seoul, the first beingGwanghwamun Plaza and the other beingCheonggye Plaza, making the district the first constituency to appear in theNational Election Commission's election statistics and exit polls for every nationwide election. Because of the district's political significance, every political party carefully selects its own candidate to run in every election and even most minor parties nominate their candidates to run in the district while they choose not to nominate candidates for other constituencies in Seoul.
Jongno has elected threepresidents to represent it in theNational Assembly:Yun Posun,Roh Moo-hyun andLee Myung-bak. Although Jongno is a district, its residents are entitled to elect their own mayor and form their own district council, as 25 districts in Seoul——including Jongno——have city-equivalent status. The City of Seoul has province-equivalent status and itsmayor is regarded as a cabinet-minister-level position. The mayorship is regarded as a higher position than all other provincial governors as these positions are regarded as deputy minister level positions.[14]
The district has been traditionally regarded as aconservative stronghold in Seoul as Seoul natives and wealthy people used to form a majority in terms of resident numbers in towns such as Pyeongchang, Samcheong-dong, Sajik-dong, Jongro 1, and Jongro 4. However, asDemocrats began to gradually gain power in theSudogwon region in the 2010s and eventually made the region their stronghold, the party also gained power in the district due to the votes ofSungkyunkwan University students in Hyehwa-dong and residents of relatively lower income in towns such asChangsin-dong andSungin-dong.
As of June 2020, the district was regarded asDemocratic stronghold, as are many other constituencies in Seoul.[15] The district was represented byLee Nak-yon, aDemocrat, formerPrime Minister and leader ofhis party, who resigned his office to run for the Korean presidency; the city government was led by Kim Yeong-jong, aDemocrat three-term mayor who served from July 2010 to November 2021.
The conservativePeople Power Party made a comeback in the district whenChoi Jae-hyung was elected as National Assembly member for Jongno in the March 2022 by-elections. In the subsequent local elections in June, Chung Moon-heon, a member of the same party, was elected mayor.
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The headquarters of theMinistry of Security and Public Administration is located in theSeoul Government Complex in Jongno District.[16] The third and fourth floors of the same building house theMinistry of Unification.[17]
The headquarters of theMinistry of Foreign Affairs is located in the MOFA Building in Jongno District.[18]
Previously, theMinistry of Education had its headquarters in the Central Government Complex in Jongno District.[19] TheMinistry of Culture, Sports and Tourism also had its headquarters in Jongno District.[20] TheMinistry of Health and Welfare had its headquarters in theHyundai Building.[21] The offices of those ministries have moved toSejong City. Before it merged into another ministry in 2008, theMinistry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries was also located in Jongro-gu.[22] It was re-established in Sejong City.
Being at the center of the city, the district hosts the followingforeign embassies.[23]
The District Council serves administrative functions such as Foreign Seal Registration, International Marriage, Adoption, Acknowledgement reports and Alien Registration Certificates forforeigners residing in Jongno District. In 2022, the current mayor isChung Moon Hun [ko].[24]
Those are some of the district administrative dongs (행정동). For a complete list, seehere.[25]
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From 1995,Dongcheng District,Beijing,People's Republic of China[28]
From 1996,Sükhbaatar District,Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia[29]
From 1999,Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States[30]
From 2013,San Miguel de Allende,Guanajuato, Mexico[31]
From 2015,Prague 1 Municipal District, Czech Republic[32]
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