Souimun, the Lost Gate of Seoul City Wall

Souimun Gate was a gate of the Hanyangdoseong (the Seoul City Wall), located between Sungnyemun Gate and Donuimun Gate, serving as the southwestern passage of Hanyang during the Joseon Dynasty. The area around Souimun Gate was a bustling hub of land and water transportation, filled with goods and people from all over the country. Outside the gate, executions of serious criminals and Catholic believers who were thought to threaten Confucian ideology were carried out, making it widely known that severe punishments awaited those who committed crimes. During the Japanese occupation, Souimun Gate was demolished in 1914 for road improvements, as it was perceived as an obstacle to urban modernization. This exhibition provides an opportunity to explore the bustling scenes and the history of demolition of Souimun Gate, which guarded the southwestern part of the Seoul City Wall.