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Fortress Wall of Seoul

Buildings and structures completed in 1396Buildings and structures in SeoulCastles in South KoreaCity walls in South KoreaHistoric Sites of South Korea
History of SeoulTourist attractions in SeoulWorld Heritage Tentative List
한양도성낙산구간
한양도성낙산구간

The Fortress Wall of Seoul (Hanja: 서울 漢陽都城; Hangul: 서울 한양도성;), or literally the Seoul City Wall is a series of walls made of stone, wood and other materials, built to protect the city of Seoul against invaders. The wall was first built in 1396 to defend and show the boundaries of the city, surrounding Hanyang (Hanja: 漢陽; Hangul: 한양 the old name for Seoul) in the Joseon Dynasty. At that time, it was called Hansung (Hanja: 漢城; Hangul: 한성). The wall stretches 18.6 km along the ridge of Seoul's four inner mountains, Bugaksan, Inwangsan, Naksan and Namsan. At present, a 12-km section of the wall is designated as Historic Site No. 10 (1963) and is protected accordingly, along with the gates, water gates, and signal fire mounds. The northern, eastern, and southern sections of Mt.Nam (Namsan section) walls have undergone extensive restoration work, having sustained damage or been entirely destroyed during Japanese imperial rule (1910–1945).

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Fortress Wall of Seoul (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Fortress Wall of Seoul
Samcheong Tunnel), Seoul

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Latitude Longitude
N 37.595277777778 ° E 126.98055555556 °
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Samcheong Tunnel)
03050 Seoul
South Korea
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한양도성낙산구간
한양도성낙산구간
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Assassination of Empress Myeongseong
Assassination of Empress Myeongseong

Between 5:50 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. on 8 October 1895, Queen Min (later "Empress Myeongseong"), the consort of King Gojong of Joseon, was assassinated by a group of Japanese agents under Miura Gorō. The attack happened at Okhoru (옥호루; 玉壺樓) in Geoncheonggung, Gyeongbokgung, Seoul, Joseon. This incident is known in Korea as the Eulmi Incident (Korean: 을미사변; Hanja: 乙未事變).The queen had been assertive and wielded a great amount of political power in Korea. After Japan's victory in the First Sino-Japanese war, she turned to Russia, another foreign power that was interested in Korea, and aligned Korea with the Russian Empire, in an effort to counterbalance Japanese dominance on the peninsula. Amid the turmoil, Park Yung-hyo, a prominent pro-Japanese figure within Joseon's cabinet, was removed from office. Upon his ouster, he informed Japan that the Queen was responsible for his dismissal and that she had intentions to expel more pro-Japanese elements from the palace. This drew the ire of Japan.The agents were let into the palace by pro-Japanese Korean guards. Once inside, they beat and threatened other members of the Royal Family during their search for the Queen. The Crown Princess was dragged down stairs and beaten. When the Queen was eventually located, she was beaten and killed with a single slash from a sword. Some agents then proceeded to loot the palace and other houses in the city, while others stripped her body and examined her genitals. They then covered her corpse in oil and burned it.The attack has been characterized by modern historians of Japan as "brutal" and "barbaric"; these sentiments were shared by contemporary international and domestic observers. The assassination had been intended to strengthen Japan's position in Korea, but it offered little benefit; its brutality even temporarily harmed Japan's international image. The attack also resulted in Gojong seeking refuge in the Russian legation in Seoul the following year.