Namdaemun Market
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Namdaemun Market is a large traditional
market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...
in
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. The market is located next to
Namdaemun Namdaemun (, ), officially known as the Sungnyemun (, ), is one of the Eight Gates in the Fortress Wall of Seoul, South Korea, which surrounded the city in the Joseon dynasty. It is located in Jung-gu between Seoul Station and Seoul Plaza, ...
, the "Great South Gate," which was the main southern gate to the old city.Namdaemun Market
at
Doosan Encyclopedia ''Doosan Encyclopedia'' is a Korean language encyclopedia published by Doosan Donga (두산동아). The encyclopedia is based on the ''Dong-A Color Encyclopedia'' (동아원색세계대백과사전), which comprises 30 volumes and began to be p ...
It is the oldest and largest market in Korea.


History

Namdaemun market dates back to 1414, during the reign of
King Taejong Taejong of Joseon (13 June 1367 – 8 June 1422), personal name Yi Bang-won ( Korean: 이방원; Hanja: 李芳遠), was the third ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea and the father of King Sejong the Great. Before ascending to the throne, he ...
, as a government-managed marketplace. In 1608,
King Seonjo Seonjo of Joseon (26 November 1552 – 16 March 1608) was the fourteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea from 1567 to 1608. He was known for encouraging Confucianism and renovating state affairs at the beginning of his reign. However, politi ...
set up the office of ''seonhyecheong'' (hangul: 선혜청, hanja: 宣惠廳, "tribute bureau") in the district to manage the tributes of rice, cloth and money. A trading marketplace took its form around that time and commercial activities flourished as traders set up various shops. Trade was active in grains, fish, fruit, and miscellaneous goods. The management of the market went over to the Japanese in 1922, but after liberation in 1945 the merchants established the ''Namdaemun Merchant Organization'' and took over management. The market, however, turned to ruins during the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
and succumbed to fire in 1953. The Seoul Namdaemun Market Co. Ltd. was founded in 1954 to rebuild the market, but efforts fell short due to financial troubles. Endeavors for reconstruction continued in the following years, but fires swept the market again in 1968 and 1975.Namdaemun Market
at Encyclopedia of Korean Culture
The city of Seoul announced plans to renovate the market in 2007, and reconstruction and renovations are being continued in 2010.


Characteristics

Namdaemun Market is one of the oldest continually running markets in South Korea, and one of the largest retail markets in Seoul. The streets in which the market is located were built in a time when cars were not prevalent, so the market itself is not accessible by car. The main methods of transporting goods into and out of the market are by motorcycle and hand-drawn carts. It occupies many city blocks, which are blocked off from most car traffic due to the prevalence of parking congestion in the area. The market can be reached by subway or bus; the location is within a 10-minute walk from
Seoul Station Seoul Station is a major railway station in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. The station is served by the Korail Intercity Lines and the commuter trains of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway. Services KTX Seoul Station is the terminus of most ...
and is even closer to the subway
Hoehyeon station Hoehyeon Station is a station on the Seoul Subway Line 4. It is the closest station to the historical gate of Namdaemun, and also serves the major shopping district of Namdaemun Market. This station is located in Namchang-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. S ...
, Line 4. Much of the market is outside, but there are also many stores which line the streets. Many retailers buy their items, particularly clothing, at wholesale prices at Namdaemun, to resell in their own stores in other cities. Namdaemun is a popular
tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...
attraction. The Market is on the Seoul list of ''Asia's 10 greatest street food cities'' for the
hotteok ''Hotteok'' (, ), sometimes called Hoeddeok, is a type of filled pancake; and is a popular street food in South Korea. It originates in Korean Chinese cuisine, when it was first brought into Korea from China during the 19th century. Preparati ...
.Goldberg, Lin
"Asia's 10 greatest street food cities"
CNN. 23 March 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012


See also

*
Shopping in Seoul Seoul, South Korea has many shopping areas and markets throughout the city, including Myeong-dong, Cheongdam-dong, Hongdae area, Dongdaemun and Namdaemun markets. Markets and traditional The largest market is the Dongdaemun Market, which ...
*
List of markets in South Korea Major cities in South Korea typically have several traditional markets, each with vendors selling a wide variety of goods including fruit, vegetables, meat, fish, breads, clothing, textiles, handicrafts, souvenirs, and Korean traditional medic ...
*
List of South Korean tourist attractions This is a list of notable tourist attractions in South Korea. The list may include temples, museums, aquariums, landmarks, sports venues, markets, shopping districts, or other notable locations popular with tourists. 0–9 * 63 Building * 6 ...


References

Namdaemun Market (남대문시장) , , South Korea https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPsXxB1QhsE


External links


Namdaemun : Official Seoul City Tourism

Korean Tourism Organization's site for Namdaemun Market

Namdaemun Market
{{Coord, 37, 33, 34.00, N, 126, 58, 38.70, E, source:kowiki_region:KR, display=title Jung District, Seoul Shopping districts and streets in South Korea Retail markets in Seoul Food markets in South Korea