The seventeenth-century transition of seoul's spatial structure to functional pragmatism

Abstract

This paper explores the functional pragmatism embedded in the transformation of feudal Seoul's urban structure. Using historic maps drawn between 1751 and 1914 and an analytical method of space syntax, the paper documents changes in the distribution of major administrative buildings and streets in Seoul ("Hanseongbu") during the Joseon Dynasty. The results indicate that administrative buildings such as palaces, royal villas, economic authority buildings, and military headquarters were relocated along major commercial corridors such as Jongro and Namdaemunro Boulevard during the period. Based on a geographical information analysis, Jongro showed the highest street integration value over time, followed by the southwestern part of the city, because of the overlap between commercial boulevards and administrative buildings. The results suggest that the principle of urban design in which government districts were separated from commercial areas was incrementally abandoned during the late Joseon Dynasty. This functional merging was encoded into the shaping of contemporary Seoul instead of following the old Chinese regulation of urban-form making.