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This paper will study the building background and significance of the 40th AnniversaryMonument of Gojong ’s Enthronement and will also consider the art historical meaning onthe arrangement and the iconic feature of the animal statues which are adorning the exteriorof the memorial royal palace. The 40th Anniversary Monument of Gojong’s Enthronement is a tombstone whichhave erected in 1902 at the southern Chamber of Elders(耆老所), to commemorate the40th anniversary of the King Gojong(r.1863 -1907), entering into the Chamber of Eldersby going on sixty years old, changing the name of a country into “Daehan(大韓)” and usingthe title of Emperor. The King Gojong took pains to establish modern and autonomous state by organizingthe system and adopting the modern civilization. Building the monument which was thebiggest undertaking for commemorating is a great achievement under the rapidly changingsituation and poor financial condition. The banister of the memorial royal palace which protecting the tombstone is adornedwith Four Symbols, the Earthly Branches and Haechi(獬豸). This example could be seen in the case of the stone steps of Geunjeongjeon in Gyeongbokgung Palace, but it differs considerablyin the principles of the arrangement. As for the stone steps, it could be interpretedby the Theory of I-Ching. As for the memorial royal palace, however, it could be seen thata different arrangement was applied; each animal had placed at all direction. It is assumedthat it aims to extensively reach the king Gojong’s reign and edification into the whole nationand to announce that the Korean Empire is an autonomous state. Although the production date of the animal statues of the memorial royal palace is apparentand it is a great work by the nation, it shows an art of low standard comparing tothe artwork of the early Joseon Dynasty. The formative features of icons showed a trendof simplification and formalization with technical regression in pictorial sculpture. Thistendency was keeping with the rise and fall of the Korean Empire. The importance of thisresearch includes how confused situation then has affected the artwork.

This paper exposes the wish of the colonial power to secure public authoritythrough the process of installing a public pawnshop(公設質屋) at Kyungsung(京城), finally taking notice of its inborn impasse. The social relationship possessed by theCh’eondangpo(pawnshop; 典當鋪) and Sichiya( Japanese-style pawnshop; 質屋) atKyungsung was never considered in the public welfare service of Chosun, which led to thedirect opposition from the owner of Ch’eondangpo and Sichiya and then to a dispute atthe city council in 1929. Kyungsung city’s efforts to resolve this bore some fruit at the citycouncil in 1931 through ‘alliance’ with Chosun representatives, reaching the agreementthat the public pawnshop should be increased in number. However, this need never materializedproperly throughout the colonial period. In this sense, the public authority of thecolonial power was very weak. Ch’eondangpo and Sichiya were the most typical financial services for the working classin Kyungsung at the colonial period. Both were the same in the frame of operations, suchas conferring about the interest rates and terms of foreclosure from each of association, but with a clear difference in the owner’s ethnic component, distribution area, etc. The colonialpower of the colonial Japanese authorities and Kyungsung city struggled to manage theseCh’eondangpo and Sichiya. At first, they sought for expedient control but the social workon the imperial scale appearing in the 1920’s made them reconsider the existing method ofcontrol. That is, the colonial power made an attempt to deprive both styles of pawnshop ofsocial nature by establishing a public pawnshop. However, the colonial power had difficulty interpreting many social problems surroundingCh’eondangpo and Sichiya in terms of ‘Chosun things.’ Besides, they failed to be quickin taking sole possession of the idea of ‘public interest’ needed for its resolution, either. Inthe meantime, the association as an interest group proceeded to interpret the public benefitin a different way than the colonial power. Such a situation evolved into the aspect ofcollision and alliance among political powers at the city council in 1929 and 1931. Hereworked the colonial power like Kyunsung city, different views between Chosun and Japaneserepresentatives as variables. Though, at last, East Public Pawnshop(東部公益質屋)and West Public Pawnshop(西部公益質屋) were established in December 1929 and December1931, respectively, it was far too short to support the public representative natureheld by the colonial power. This case of Kyungsung well illustrates why the attempt of thecolonial power to secure public authority had to fail inescapably.

Saemunanro (Road) is the 1.59 kilometer-long, 8-lane, 40 meter-wide road betweenSejongno Intersection and Seodaemun Intersection. Along with its eastward extensionJongno road, it is a major east-west thoroughfare in Seoul connecting the main East Gateto the main West Gate of the old Seoul city wall. The Saemunan-Jongno route, connecting the east and the west parts of downtown Seoul, dates back to the construction of the new capital of the Joseon Dynasty in 1392. Compared to Jongno, which has been touted as the central road of Seoul, however, Saemunanro has long been under-appreciated. This study reviews the construction and transformation of Saemunanro throughout theJoseon period and changes brought to it during the Japanese Occupation period, when the overall layout of the road as we see today was finalized. Also reviewed in this study are the value of Saemunanro throughout history and the significance of changes over time. Seoul was constructed as the new capital of Joseon at the inception of the dynasty, and the city’s overall design was maintained through its waning years. The construction of Gyeonghuigung (Palace) along Saemunanro in the 17thcentury was a part of reconstruction of the city after the devastation of twowars- the Japanese invasion(Imjin War) and Qing Chinese incursion. Such remodeling adhered to and repeated the ideology and principles of the construction of the new capital that were set down in the early Joseon period. In the process of the reconstruction, Saemunanro saw the development of subsidiary and alternate routes around Heunghwamun, the main gate to Gyeonghuigung. During the reigns of King Sukjong and King Yeongjo in the 18thcentury, Saemunanro was managed to serve the needs of the palace as the Great West Gate was closed from time to time. The shape and characteristics of Saemunanro did not change through the Korean Empire period (1897- 1910). The area around Seodaemun, the West Gate, became a center for transportation and a window for modern amenities, as train stations and road-car stops were located along Saemunanro. The basic functionality of the road, however, did not change because the road was still managed to serve the purposes of royal power and the needs of royal palaces, which conflicted with the ideology of modern city management. Today’s Saemunanro retains the shape created by the City Remodeling Project that was conducted during the Japanese occupation period. The road was remodeled and redesigned in 1915, around the time of the Joseon Products Exhibition; Jongno’s remodeling came later in the 1930s. As a result of the early remodeling, the vestiges of the Korean Empire period (1897-1910) like the city walls, Gyeonghuigung and Honggyeo disappeared early-on. Saemunanro has gradually transformed into what we see today, having developed differently from Jongno. A city is composed of roads and buildings, laid out intentionally according to a design. People’s movements and perspectives will be limited by the intention behind the placements within the space. Those who are in power have the ability to transform the cityspaces and layout. The city roads, therefore, are controlled by state power, and amplifythat power through rearrangements of spaces. Accordingly, Saemunanro underwent rapidtransformation over its history, from the time of the construction of the city as the capitalof Joseon through the remodeling during the Japanese colonial period. The road’s formand the buildings alongside it have changed to meet the purpose s of those who were inpower during different periods. Historically, the road did not have connected rows of onestoryhouses or back-alleys like the Pimatgol alleyways running parallel to Jongno road. The absence of such existing structures along Saemunanro made it possible to highlight thechanges made in different periods. The road’s transformation and its significance, however,have not enjoyed the limelight, because of the prejudiced view that Saemunanro was farsmaller than Jongno. This study of the transformation of Saemunanro and its significanceis hoped to contribute to the balanced study of the original shape of Seoul.

Urban parks present keys to understand the background histories of urban planningformed in modern period. This paper is for discussing the urbanization and transition of park planning in Seoul: 京城, especially focusing on the small sized parks. City parks had already drawn attentions by Kyoungseong citizens from the beginning of 1920s, mainly indicated with rest or recreation functions. In small sized parks so called neighborhood playgrounds, functions for children’s health and education had been added on it. It was in 1930 that the practical ideas of urban park planning were suggested through ‘Kyoungseong City Planning’, prepared based on the investigation report of 7 pre-existing parks in Kyoungseong prefecture such as Namsan Park in 1927. Proposals in Kyongseong City Park Planning in 1930 laid a base to found later park planning, in the respect that it tried to place park sites applied from the results of calculating the open space areas with the whole planning areas and populations, even though it is hard to be considered the plan had covered comprehensive ways of functions and uses properly. Park planning got newly arranged a turning point with the promulgation of Kyoungseong Street Planning in 1936. Final plan was announced in March, 1940 completed withStreet Planning and Land Readjustment Project promoted by Kyoungseong prefecture. It would be firstly cited as the most apparent differences compared to 1930’s park planning that numbers of isolated neighborhood playgrounds-small sized parks got created by the Land Readjustment Project. The number of total parks became increased to over 3 times as before from it and the way of classifying park types simple to follow the sizes not much to considerate the functions. Types of 140 parks including 38 areas prepared for parks in 1930 were rearranged as three types of grand parks, neighborhood parks and neighborhood playgrounds: large, medium and small sized. Neighborhood playgrounds in Seoul actualized just before Korea was liberated fromJapanese governor, which had their main functions shifted from ‘education for children’ to ‘urban sanitation’. When they became finally showed their details through Kyoungseong Street Plan, the functions of ‘evacuation or air defense’ were put priorities on the same as other park types. The ideas of ‘vacant sites’ for emergency continued its transition to ‘public sites’ after the liberation and the Korean War. However, prepared open spaces were substituted for housings or education facilities according with their first necessities after the war. The park sites that had left their roles for civil affairs have transfigured to recreational facilities for residents, and have restored to civil parks occasionally.

This paper studied a hazing ritual held by a central government office of late Joseonperiod, and Seonjeongwangyehoedo(宣傳官契會圖), a painting of a hazing ritual of royal fanfare musicians. A hazing ritual was a rite of passage for a new official to be admitted as a formal member. A compulsory item for the ritual was the painting which draws the scene of that specific ritual. The fact that the gathering of the same office members mostly took the form of a hazing ritual was proved by Seonjeongwangyehoedo(宣傳 官契會圖). Five paintings of 18th Century Seonjeongwangyehoedo(宣傳官契會圖) are foundtoday. A Seonjeongwangyehoedo(宣傳官契會圖) painted between 1778 to 1789 depictsthe gathering around the riverside and the deck of the Han river and Noryangjin(鷺梁津). After a hazing ritual was banned, once a pleasure-giving gathering of royal musicians was depicted as more abstained meeting around the river side. This paper unveiled the hidden custom behind the hazing ritual of royal musicians of late Joseon through its painting, and showed that the hazing ritual was the motivation behind the Seonjeongwangyehoedo(宣傳官契會圖). An outcome of this paper is that it inquired into the actual presence of royal fanfare musicians through the custom of a hazing ritual and a painting describing it.