In the Joseon era, the site of Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) was the eastern end of the Seoul City Wall. The ground here was hard to defend, so fortifications and military facilities were concentrated here. A training office where soldiers were selected and drilled stood here, along with a barracks for troops of the Military Training Command. At the low ground where the stream flowed out of the city, two floodgates were built: a five-arch floodgate and the two-arch Igansumun Floodgate.
In the modern era the barracks was abolished, and when the army was disbanded in 1907, the training office closed too. A park and Gyeongseong Stadium were built on the site, and the Igansumun Floodgate disappeared from above ground. Opened in October 1925, Gyeongseong Stadium was Korea's first modern multi-sport stadium, but it was built as part of Japanese colonial policy.
After liberation it was called Seoul Stadium, and from 1985 Dongdaemun Stadium; it stood on this spot for 82 years. The stadium, which had hosted countless games and events, was torn down in 2007.
Excavations that ran from 2008 to 2009 brought to light sections of the Seoul City Wall, a projecting bastion and the Igansumun Floodgate, all thought to have been lost. The Igansumun Floodgate was found 3.7m underground, on the site of the former soccer field.
Construction of DDP began in April 2009. Designed by Zaha Hadid Architects and Samoo Architects & Engineers, it was completed in November 2013 and opened on March 21, 2014. Today it is run by the Seoul Design Foundation.
