Gwanghwamun Square

Gwanghwamun (光化門) is the main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace. According to the chronology of the Royal Palaces and Tombs Center, it was built in 1426 (the 8th year of King Sejong's reign). The road running out in front of the gate was called Yukjo Street; the government offices outside the palace stood together along it, making it the administrative heart of the kingdom.

Even after Gwanghwamun burned down during the Imjin War, the road in front of it remained Yukjo Street. King Gojong restored Gwanghwamun when he rebuilt Gyeongbokgung Palace, but after 1910, when the Japanese Government-General building went up, the gate was forcibly moved to the east side of the palace. The gate later rebuilt in concrete was disputed over its location and materials, and after historical research it returned to its original site.

Through modern history, the road in front of Gwanghwamun became a place where people gathered to make their voices heard. The statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin was erected on April 27, 1968. In 2009 the road took the form of a square for the first time, and on October 9 that year — Hangul Day — the statue of King Sejong was installed.

From 2016, a plan to remake the square was drawn up through public discussion, and construction began in November 2020. Excavations before the work uncovered building sites, a well and drainage channels of the government offices of Yukjo Street, including the Saheonbu. The new Gwanghwamun Square reopened on August 6, 2022.

The woldae (royal terrace) in front of Gwanghwamun was buried underground when tram tracks were laid in 1923. At the end of a project started in 2006 to return Gwanghwamun to its original form, the woldae and the gate's name plaque were restored and opened to the public on October 15, 2023.