Bumingwan (;

Modified Hepburn is the main system of romanization for the Japanese language. The system was originally published in 1867 by American Christian missionary and physician James Curtis Hepburn as the standard in the first edition of his Japanese–English dic ...

: ''Fuminkan'') is a historic building in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea. It currently serves as a building for the

Seoul Metropolitan Council The Seoul Metropolitan Council () is the local council of Seoul. There are a total of 112 members, with 101 members elected in the First-past-the-post voting system and 11 members elected in Party-list proportional representation. The council u ...

. It was designated a Registered Cultural Heritage in 2002.

History

The building was originally designed to be a multi-purpose entertainment building, with spaces for plays, movies, lectures, and meetings. Construction began on July 30, 1934, and ended on December 10, 1935. It had three floors above ground, and one underground. It had a large auditorium that could seat 1,800, a medium auditorium with capacity for 400, and a small one for 160. It had a large variety of rooms beyond that, including space for a restaurant, a barbershop, and for hosting guests. It was rare for the time for its modern amenities, which included air conditioning and heating. The facilities in the building were available to rent for various purposes. Accordingly, events like weddings, memorial ceremonies, and celebrations were held at the building. It was used as a theater by many significant Korean theater companies during the colonial period. Some historic Korean plays were written with the stage of Bumingwan in mind. Keijo Public Hall Incident Monument

In 1937, after the beginning of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

, the building became a center for coordinating propaganda and the forced mobilization of Koreans. Eventually, it was targeted by the Korean independence movement because of this. On July 24, 1945, the building was the site of the . A conference for pro-Japanese Korean collaborators was being held at the building at the time. The attack occurred just weeks before the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

, the

liberation of Korea Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

, and the end of the Korean independence movement. After liberation, the building was used by the

United States Army Military Government in Korea The United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) was the official ruling body of the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula from 9 September 1945 to 15 August 1948. The country during this period was plagued with political a ...

. General

John R. Hodge General John Reed Hodge (12 June 1893 – 12 November 1963) was an American military officer of the United States Army. Hodge commanded Operation Blacklist Forty in 1945. He served as the governor of the American military government in Korea fr ...

, head of the military government, hosted a series of meetings in the building in September 1945. In 1949, it became owned by the

Seoul Metropolitan Government The Seoul Metropolitan Government () is a local government of Seoul, South Korea. The mayor is elected to a four-year term by the citizens of Seoul and is responsible for the administration of the city government. The Seoul Metropolitan Governmen ...

. On April 29, 1950, the

National Theater Company of Korea The National Theater Company of Korea (NTCK, ) is a South Korean theatre company founded in 1950 as an affiliate of the National Theater of Korea. In 2010, in its 60th anniversary year, NTCK separated from the National Theater of Korea and b ...

was founded, and it used the building as its headquarters. Shortly afterwards, the Korean War began, and the theater company fled to Daegu for safety. The building was then used as the meeting hall for the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

beginning in June 1954 until the

National Assembly Proceeding Hall The National Assembly Building () is a building in Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul which serves as the location of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, the legislature of South Korea. History The current building was compl ...

was completed in 1975. It was then used as a civic center, then annex for the

Sejong Center Sejong Center for the Performing Arts () is the largest arts and cultural complex in Seoul, South Korea. It has an interior area of 53,202m². It is situated in the center of the capital, on Sejongno, a main road that cuts through the capital city ...

. Since 1991, it has been a building for the

References

External links

{{Commons category inline, Bumingwan Registered Cultural Heritage of South Korea Jongno District Historic buildings and structures in Seoul Keijō Former cinemas Buildings and structures completed in 1935 Buildings and structures of Korea under Japanese rule National Assembly (South Korea) 1935 establishments in Korea Cinemas and movie theaters in Korea under Japanese rule Culture of Korea under Japanese rule Theatres in South Korea Cinemas and movie theaters in South Korea