Description of the attraction
Gwangguimun Gate, also known as the Southeast Gate, is one of Seoul's eight gates in the wall that surrounded the city during the Joseon era. The eight gates of the city wall were divided into two groups: 4 large gates and 4 small ones. In addition, each gate has two names - the first describes the gate (size, location), and the second is an honorific. The name of the Gwangguimun gate is translated from Korean as "gate of bright light." This gate is also called Namsun, which means "southern little gate".
Gwangguimun Gate was built in 1396. It is often mentioned that the gate was originally called Sugumun - "the gate of the water channel." However, in reality, these gates were called "Sigumun", which translated means "the gate through which the corpses were taken out," since in the Joseon era, there was a place of public execution near the gate.
In 1711-1719 the gate was rebuilt. The Gwangguimun Gate was the only gate that survived the Japanese occupation. However, this architectural monument was badly damaged during the Korean War (1950-1953) - the pavilion and the stone wall on the gate were completely destroyed. The restoration of the gate began only in 1976. Since the road was built, the rebuilt Gwangguimun Gate was slightly shifted to the south.
Since the beginning of the restoration, the gate was closed until 2014. They were rebuilt as they were in 1719 - with a passage tower and signage, which were destroyed during the Korean War.
