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Examined in this article, are the terms that were used to refer to the Capital city during the ancient ‘Three dynasties’ period as well as the Goryeo dynasty period. Also examined are certain systems which were utilized in maintaining the Capitals’ superior status, such as a hierarchy-based local administrative system, the Golpum system of Shilla and the Bon’gwan institution of Goryeo. In the ancient and medieval periods of Korea, various terms such as Gyeong’seong(京城), Gyeong’do(京都), Gyeong’sa(京師), Do’seong(都城), Do’eub(都邑), Wang’gyeong(王京), Wang’do(王都), Wang’seong(王城) and Hwang’do(皇都) were randomly used to refer to the Capital. 『Samguk Sagi』, as well as the ‘Sega(世家)’ section(“Chronology section”) of 『Goryeo-sa』, show us hat during the Shilla period terms like ‘Gyeong’do’ and ‘Wang’do’ were more frequently used, while during the Goryeo period terms like ‘Gyeong’seong,’ ‘Wang’gyeong’ and ‘Gyeong’do’ were mostly used, and also in such order. It should be noted that the word ‘Wang’do’ was only used in referring to the capital of the late Shilla. And it is rather interesting to see that terms like ‘Gyeong’sa’ or ‘Hwang’do,’ which were used in East Asia to refer to the capital of a superior state entitling other states, which was imperial China in many cases, were used to refer to the captial of Goryeo. This should have been one of the results of the Goryeo people’s “plural view” upon the world order(多元的天下觀). In case of Goguryeo and Baekje, according to the Geography section of 『Samguk Sagi』, terms like Heul’seung’gol-seong(紇升骨城), Guk’nae-seong(國內城), Pyeong’yang(平壤), and Jang’an-seong(長安城) were used for the Goguryeo capital, while terms like Wi’ryeseong(慰禮城), Hanseong(漢城), Wungcheon(熊川[Wungjin, 熊津]) and Soburi(所夫里[Sabi, 泗沘]) were used for the Baekje capital. Meanwhile, Shilla used the term “Geum’seong(金城)” after the unification. Goryeo called its own capital as “Gae’gyeong(開京)” since it was moved from the Cheol’weon area right after the dynasty’s foundation. It was a term which also distinguished itself from the ‘Gae’seong(開城)’ area which was also called “Gae’seong-bu” or “Gae’seong-hyeon.” But “Gae’gyeong” was changed to Gae’seongbu in the latter half period, and while ‘Gae’gyeong’ and ‘Gae’seong’ were used in different periods, in reality they were both used as words to refer to the capital. In terms of the status and authority of the capital, it is here examined that the capitals of both Shilla and Goryeo had a distinctively authoritative status compared to the other regions. A hierarchy-based local administration system, as well as institutions like the Golpum system of Shilla or the Bon’gwan system of Goryeo, served as methods of distinguishing the capital from the other regions. The ancient Three dynasties as well as Goryeo all designed a hierarchy-based local administrative system, and placed the capital at the center. All these countries did not establish either supplemental(陪都) or secondary capitals(別京), and did not divide its functions, so the status of the capital was higher than ever, while its functions were also stronger than ever. Added to that, all of these countries had different administrative systems for the capital and local regions. In case of the Three dynasties, the basic principle beneath the administrative structures of the capital and the local regions were different. The Capital was an administrative entity transformed from a Bu(部) unit which had been a political entity during the time of the dynasties’ foundation. On the other hand, the local areas were absorbed by the center later on, when the center was transforming itself into a centralized state which was beginning to rule its subjects in a more direct fashion. Goryeo as well established Gae’gyeong right after its foundation, and initiated the Five Bu units with Bang & Ri subunits(五部坊里制), in order to differentiate the inner structure of the capital from those of the other regions. The Capital city was at the height of a hierarchy structure, and with a status that was fairly different from other regions, boasted its unique and different nature. Aside from the local administrative system, Shilla’s Golpum system and Goryeo’s Bon’gwan system too both distinguished the capital from the other regions, and enforced the superiority of the central capital. By these systems, the local regions were treated differently. In case of the Golpum system, there were subsystems for the Capital hierarchy(京位) and Local hierarchy(外位) respectively. Residents of the Six Bu units inside the capital(王京6部) received titles according to the former subsystem, while residents in local areas received titles according to the latter. This was because these Six units of the capital were components of the Saro-guk(斯盧國) entity, which later became the origin of the Shilla dynasty. Operations of the Bon’gwan system of Goryeo were also based upon discriminative administration practices between Gun/Hyeon regions and Bu’gok-type regions, as well as between regions where central officials were dispatched and regions where they were not. In the meantime, the Gae’gyeong capital was above them all. Examined in this article is the relationship between the royal Wang house and the Gae’gyeong capital, and it is confirmed that the Wang house’s sole Bon’gwan region was Gae’gyeong, and Gae’gyeong had only one house which had Gae’gyeong as its Bon’gwan: the Wang house. There are some things that should be clarified in the future, but it cannot be denied that the Wang house and Gae’gyeong had a special relationship, under the Goryeo Bon’gwan system. Also, prevailed the Goryeo dynasty period was a Pungsu theory concerning the location of the capital(國都風水), which brought a holy image to Gae’gyeong and consolidated its superior status. The Golpum system of Shilla and the Bon’gwan system of Goryeo all provided basic platforms for governing. And these two systems were based upon discrimination of local areas from the capital, and different statuses among local units. We can see the capitals’ unique and exclusive quality of was an institutionally guaranteed constant in both Shilla and Goryeo periods. The Shilla Golpum system was more harsh in discriminating the local areas, compared to the Goryeo Bon’gwan system. It would be safe to assume that the discrimination between the capital and local areas might have diminished as time went on, from Shilla to Goryeo. In fact the Bon’gwan system continued to lose its relevance, as the Goryeo dynasty was entering its second half. And as the authority of the geomantic Pungsu theory was gradually losing its influence, both physical or philosophical foundation to maintain the capital’s exclusive authority was slipping away as well. Then, how such distinguished status of the capital would have been retained in the Joseon dynasty period, especially when its capital Han’yang was the first in the history of Korea to have had no meaningful connection with the dynasty’s royal family? Examination of the capitals of the ancient Three dynasties and also that of the Goryeo dynasty, we can see that their unique status and authority was maintained for a long time thanks to a hierarchy-based local administration system as well as unique institutions such as Golpum and Bon’gwan. Based on these historical facts, the quality as a capital(首都性), embedded in the Seoul city we have today, should be explored more. They may shed some light on the historical nature of the Seoul capital.

Examined in this article is the nature of the early Joseon capital as well as its status throughout the country, which can be seen through local geographical records as well as certain terms that were actually used in this time period. The Joseon people considered the Hanseong(漢城) city as the ‘Capital(Gyeongdo, 京都),’ as it was a place where the King lived and also crucial offices of the government were positioned. In their eyes, it was a place that was different from others. This term ‘Gyeongdo’ symbolizes the governance of the state, and also a symbolic authority that all the previous capitals of Korea had maintaine . Meanwhile, the term ‘Hanseong-bu’ was more of a geographical concept, and referred to an actual region with a discernible outline. The nature of this city as a geographical unit was recorded with far more details in the 『Newly revised, Collection of Geographical Information of Dong’guk[Joseon] (Shinjeung Dong’guk Yeoji Seung’ram, 新增東國輿地勝覽)』. The layout of this text was influenced by 『Ming’s Grand Assembly of Geographical Information(Daming yitong zhi, 大明一統志)』 and showed similarities in many points. These two texts, however, also showed some differences in their descriptions of the two cal image, and a power to tractor cultural potentials to the capital. Ming had literally two capitals(“兩京”), while Joseon had only one. In the case of Joseon altars and shrines(壇廟) from the capital to the outer local units were all on a single Service structure, which suggests the level of unity and singularity the Joseon governance brought to the overall culture of the entire country. Also in Joseon, the palace was open to the outside, while the main palace of Ming was not. We can see that the Joseon king’s leadership was more opened up to the general society. Another thing that we can see from Joseon’s geographical information books(地志) is the fact that the information reflected the so-called “Tributary-Appointment” relationship between the Korean peninsula and China. And so was the case with the Ming Geography manuals. We can see that it was a common facet in all East Asian geography manuals. Many of the conceptual terms that referred to the Capital City Hanseong-bu shows us what kind of meaning the Joseon capital had in the minds of the Joseon people. Many words which were used to call the capital, such as Gyeongdo(京都), Gukdo(國都), Gyeongseong(京城), Doseong(都城), Do’eub(都邑), Gyeongsa(京師), Suseon(首善), Wangdo(王都), Wang’gyeong(王京), Je’gyeong(帝京), Jedo(帝都), Hwangdo(皇都), and Hwangseong(皇城), all extracted from the Annals of the Joseon dynasty, should provide us with at least portions of the real nature of the Joseon capital city. There are certain aspects confirmed from all the words mentioned above. First, words based upon the concept of ‘fortresses’ were used to describe the capital. Second, certain terms reflected a mentality firmly based upon the aforementioned Tributary-Appointment system of East Asia. And third, a notion that the capital was the ultimate center where morality and the king’s leadership(and benevolence[“王化”]) originates was firmly embedded in many of these terms. It seems that fortresses were considered as a rather crucial component in establishing a capital, by the people of the time. And considering the capital as the center of morality and benevolent governance was a purely Neo-Confucian idea that had not existed before. Also, terms that reflected the Tributary-Appointment sentimentality were used rather strictly, while there seems to have been an interesting change in choices of words calling the capital especially around the time when Ming was being replaced by the Jurchen Qing. People at the time seem to have hesitated in calling the Qing’s capital using the words Hwang(皇), Je(帝) or Gyeongsa(京師). Then again, it should also be noted that these words were not used that much at all. And the term ‘Wang’gyeong(王京)’ served as a term referring to the Joseon capital in the context of Joseon people’s exchanges with the outside. The variety of terms used to describe the Joseon capital makes the meaning of the city pretty special. The Joseon capital was the living place of the king who was morally trained(修身), and therefore was where his benevolent governance was emanating. It was also a place that symbolized the East Asian world order, and fortresses were important in visualizing that kind of authority. All these facets indicate that the Joseon capital was different from the capitals that came before, which were essentially ‘holy places’ where the king’s heritage was literally born. The Joseon capital was based upon a new order and a new philosophical belief system. It was designed as a superior place domestically, and it also established itself in the context of East Asian order in its own way. We can see that the Joseon society was multi-faceted and hierarchy-based.

Up until the 17th century, the gap between the Han’yang capital and the local cities, was not that big. But coming into the 18th century, the Joseon capital continued to grow, and expanded its gap with its fellow local cities. We can see that from the terms that referred to the capital city. The terms mostly remained the same with the ones that had been used before, the middle period of the Joseon dynasty, such as Gyeongdo(京都), Gyeongseong(京城), Doseong(都城), Gyeongsa(京師) and Wangdo(王都). But coming into the 18th century, new terms like ‘Gyeong’hwa(京華)’ or ‘Gyeong/Hyang(京鄕),’ which signaled a nuance distinguishing the capital from the other regions, began to be used heavily. Especially, the letter ‘Hwa(華)’ was clearly distinctive from the term ‘Ya(野),’ which meant areas other than the capital. And while terms such as ‘Gyeong/We(京外)’ or ‘Jung/We(中外)’ were used to refer to the Capital and other regions as a whole, in this period a new letter ‘Hyang’ replaced ‘We’ (as in ‘Gyeong/Hyang[京鄕]’). This new letter had a ‘country side’ nuance. Everything was piling up inside the capital. As a result, the capital and local cities diverged more than apparently in the 18th century. People from various classes such as middlemen and merchants continued to come to the capital, and the population inside the capital continued to grow. With commercial activities prospering and the so-called ‘middlemen literature’ forming, the capital city came to serve as not only a political and governance center, but also an economic and cultural center for the entire country. Before, people considered the place housing the Dynastic Shrine(宗廟) and Sa’jik(社稷) altars as the capital, but now they came to perceive the place with the most people and resources as the capital of the country. In order to defend the capital, Yusu-bu(留守府) posts were established in critical places around the Hanseong-bu(漢城府) capital, such as Su’weon(水原), Gwangju(廣州), Gaeseong(開城) and Gang’hwa(江華). With the concentration of resources on the capital, the monopoly of governmental seats by people living inside the capital continued. And with the resources coming from Qing China, foreign information also poured into the capital, and not the local areas. The Han’yang capital in the Joseon dynasty’s latter half period showed concentration in all areas: politics, economy, society and culture. Not only the Yangban literary figures but also the middle class figures and merchants flooded the capital city. In the meantime, the Seonbi figures and the general population were being excluded from the expanding capital, and the gap became even bigger in the 19th century.

In early modern age, the term “Sudo’ was not used but existing terms of capital were used. If we looked into commercial treaties executed with foreign countries in modern times, they used ‘Kyeongsa’ as the term of capital. Use of ‘Kyeongsa’ expressed a will to get out of international relationships with China based on premodern tribute-tributary system and then, to independently establish diplomatic relation based on modern public law of all nations as a sovereign nation, instead. Seoul region was described as ‘Hanyang Kyeongseong’ which was an example to express a capital as ‘city name + Kyeongseong’, and Kyeongseong was used as the term of capital. ‘Kyeongseong’ was the most frequently used term as capital in early modern days. Kyeongseong was frequently used not only as the term of capital but also as a proper noun to indicate Seoul region. Besides, Kyeongdo, Doseong, Doeup, Kyeongsa and Subu were largely used. ‘Hwangseong’ which meant a capital of an empire was widely shown since foundation of the Great Han Empire. It can be said that rapid increase in examples of Kyeongsa also reflected imperial consciousness. It is not true that the term “Sudo’ was not used in early modern age. Sudo which appeared in Japan as a translated word in the mid 19th century was brought into Korea in 1890’s and was often used in various literature, especially for the case referring to capitals of western countries. Reason why examples of Sudo were scarce was it fell behind existing capital terms and it had to compete with other terms such as ‘Hwangseong’ meaning a capital of an empire as its introduction was overlapped with foundation of the Great Han Empire. Finally, Sudo failed to secure its status as a modern substitution term and only kept a status as a translated word, Above trend continued in the colonial era of Korea but examples of Sudo increased. Increase in examples of Sudo since the late 1920’s was also due to influence of Nanjing government established in 1927 and Manzhouguo founded in 1932. Sudo which was used by China since then appeared in newspapers conveying foreign news from China and then, its appearance rapidly increased. However, Sudo which meant the political center of a country was difficult to be applied to Korea which was deprived of political power during the colonial era. In early modern age, Sudo as a translated word was used no only as capital, a unit of state in England and America area but also as a central city of a region. Then one day, meaning of Sudo in East Asia becomes to be limited to a unit of state. Meantime, in the colonial era of Korea there existed duplex recognition of Sudo that Kyeongseong was the capital of colonial Joseon in addition to recognition that Tokyo was the capital of Japanese Empire including colonial Joseon.

The field of Seoul Studies should be extended in terms of the spatial and the periodic to Goryeo dynasty and to the neighboring area. The study on Mamgyeong(南京) in Goryeo dynasty can be the most important theme for the prospective study. The place of Geon-joo(見州), Sa-cheon(沙川), Poong-yang(豊壤) was related closely to Mamgyeong but the study on that have rarely been accomplished. The road between Mamgyeong and capital city Gaesung(開城), roads network around Mamgyeong, the construction of whole traffic network of waterway and land rout to Mamgyeong and Hanyang also should be investigated historically with the consideration of stations, ports and auxiliary organizations. All the buddhist temples in Samgaksan(Bookhan mountain) constructed in Goryeo and Josun dynasty don’t have remained. But many temples constructed before the period of United Shilla have continued to exist although Josun dynasty had pursued the policy of respecting Confucianism and objecting against Buddhism. The reason for that or historical foundation of that deserves to be investigated on the basis of practical approach.

In the 18th century Seoul changed its urban culture in line with the transformation as a commercial city from the capital city of the medieval period. Accordingly, various types of areas with new functions had appeared. Along with the commercial development, the commercial center was expanded from one place at Sijeongsangga in Jongno to Chilpae, Yihyeon and Gyeonggang area. As citizens could have economic wealth and leisure culture, a kind of entertainment culture appeared together with the commercialization of entertainment and the amusement culture. And, a commercial agricultural area was formed at the suburban area. And the handcraft shops were formed collectively in Jongno, a center of commerce. Since the late 18th century, the center of Seoul urban space was a commercial area surrounding Jongnu. This area was an entertainment and commercial amusement area as well as handcraft production area. Areas outside the city wall became specialized for commercial agriculture and amusement zones. As such, the urban pace of Seoul was functionally divided according to the commercial development and the formation of urban culture. While the ritual functions including palaces, administrative offices, royal shrine and royal tomb remained, its significant status as a central place for the royal capital in the medieval tradition, citizens in Seoul enjoyed urban life based on commercial places.

Japan established and operated a broad railroad network in Northeast Asia in order to invade and control the Northeast Asian region in the first half of the twentieth century. The railroad in the Korean Peninsula was of particular importance as it linked the Japanese archipelago with the Eurasian continent. The international train network operated by Japan served as a lever for expanding Japanese control over Northeast Asia. The reputation of colonial Joseon and its capital, Seoul, grew because the international train network ran across this area. The nodal region of Northeast Asian railroad traffic, the Korean Peninsula and Seoul, became an essential course of travel by railroad. In particular, Seoul was a traditional city with both a living history and the culture of the Joseon dynasty, and it exhibited the history and achievements of the Japanese colonial rule. Thus Seoul drew great attention for tourism, which was expanding in Northeast Asia. As the railroad traffic in Northeast Asia grew, Seoul’s extension expanded and the city’s intensity deepened. The period around 1941 was the peak of this trend.