Gaegyeong in Koryeo had the multilayered main lines of city planning, so downtown was formed in the middle of the capital castle. Hangyeong in Joseon sat in a north-south straight line between Gyeongbokgung palace and Namdaemun gate and it pursued a uni-fied main line like China, but its downtown was formed in the middle of the capital city by making multilayered main lines. The capital city of Gaegyeong had 25 gates. The capital city of Hangyeong had 8 gates, which followed the system of a feudal lord state. Gaegyeong pursued its convenience and communication, but Hangyeong followed its named place and had the exclusive tendency. The Grand Palace of Gaegyeong consisted of the palace system of imperial state. The front gate of Imperial Castle was the east gate, Gwanghwamun. This had a profound effect on the city system of Gaegyeong. Gyeongbokgung palace of Hangyeong had three gates in a southerly direction in front of audience hall according to the palace system of a feudal lord state. Main rituals of Grand Palace in Gaegyeong were held in the various facilities, while those of Gyeongbokgung in Hangyeong were concentrated in Geunjeongjeon and Geunjeongmun. Gaegyeong was the capital of the Buddhist nation, Koryeo. So a lot of Buddhist temples were built inside and outside of the capital city. Besides Gaegyeong had various facilities of Confucianism and Taoism. Gukjagam(Seonggyungwan) was the place which various knowledges were taught in. Confucius shrine of Gukjagam was located in front of lecture hall during the early Koryeo, but Confucius shrine of Seonggyungwan was behind lecture hall at the end of the Koryeo. Hangyeong managed several Buddhist temples inside the capital city in the early Joseon, but the Buddhist temples nearly disappeared inside the capital city in the middle and late Joseon. Sogyeokseo, a Taoism facility disappeared after the Japanese Invasion. In Seong-gyungwan of Hangyeong, Confucius shrine was located in front of the lecture hall and general knowledges except Confucianism were ruled out. By this, Hangyeong became the only capital city of Confucianism in East Asia.
서울학연구소는 ‘서울학’을 육성, 확산하기 위해 서울 600년을 계기로 하여 1993년 서울특별시의 지원 아래 서울시립대학교 부설로 설립되었습니다.
서울학의 연구대상은 도시 서울입니다.
서울학은 서울의 장소, 사람, 일, 문화를 만들어내고 변화시키는 과정과 힘을 탐구하여 서울이 지닌 도시적 보편성과 특수성을 밝히는 것을 목적으로 합니다. 서울학여느 종합적 관점을 견지하면서 학제적 연구를 지향합니다.
서울에 대한 여러 기성학문 분야(역사학, 지리학, 사회학, 인류학, 경제학, 건축 및 도시계획학등)의 연구관심과 성과가 상호조명되고 교차되는 데에 서울학에 영역이 있습니다.
서울학의 학문적 관심은 오늘의 서울을 만들어낸 역사적 과정을 이해하는 데에 있지만, 그 실천적 관심은 현재의 서울에 대한 심화된 성찰을 통해 보다 나은 서울의 미래를 그리는데에 있습니다.