Get to know Downtown Seoul - South Korea

Downtown Seoul, also known as Seoul Central Business District or Sadaemun-An, is the traditional city center and central business district of Seoul. Notably, Downtown Seoul has maintained its status as the primary business district of Seoul, even with attempts to decentralize business functions to areas like Gangnam and Yeouido. The central part of Downtown Seoul includes iconic locations like Myeong-dong and Jongno-dong, which remain essential hubs for face-to-face interactions among governmental and economic elites in Seoul.

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Seoul was a planned capital of the Joseon, as geographic embodiment of Confucianism. Surely the cityscape of Hanseong-bu's downtown area was also created by adaptive cultural diffusion of Confucianism.

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Block close to the hostel where we stayed, there is a lot of buzz going on at night.

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Jongno Tower is a 33-story office building in Jongno, Seoul. Its top floor is equipped with a restaurant and bar which closed in 2022, it was famous for its view of Jongno and other areas of Seoul. The tower is located near Jonggak Station of Seoul Subway Line 1. The 23rd to 30th floors are hollow.

Sunset taking place in the end of March, a few days to the start of spring.

The central part of Downtown Seoul includes iconic locations like Myeong-dong and Jongno-dong, which remain essential hubs for face-to-face interactions among governmental and economic elites in Seoul.

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'70s and '80s: Urban redevelopment and decentralization

Time for urban regeneration came in the 1970s and '80s, when South Korea got developed enough to attract capital investments for such a program.

In the 1970s and 80s, the South Korean government led urban redevelopment efforts to decentralize downtown Seoul's unrivaled function as the central business district to areas like Gangnam and Yeouido. However, downtown Seoul continued to grow economically as it was Seoul's only long-established city center.

In our next article we will explore Gangnam, I hope to see you there!