Seoul

=== Joseon ===
==== Early and middle period ====
[[File:한양도성낙산구간.jpg|200px|left|thumb|The [[Fortress Wall of Seoul]]]]
{{Further|Downtown Seoul}}
Seoul was [[List of purpose-built national capitals|planned capital]] of the [[Joseon]]. [[Yi Seong-gye]], who was the founding father of the Joseon, enthroned himself to the King [[Taejo of Joseon|Taejo]] at the capital of old [[Goryeo]] in 1392. He changed the name of his Kingdom from Goryeo to Joseon in 1393, and started to looking for the place where Joseon's new capital will be established. Through some sharp debates inside government, King [[Taejo of Joseon|Taejo]] chose Hanyang (Sindo) instead of Muak in September 1394. Hanyang, as the new capital of the Joseon, was planned as geographic embodiment of [[Korean Confucianism]] and its construction started in October 1394. Some early stages of its construction, such as major palaces including the [[Gyeongbokgung]], was finished in 1395. Also the [[Fortress Wall of Seoul|Fortress Wall]] surrounding the Hanyang city was partially finished around 1396.<ref>{{cite book |last1=김 |first1=기호 |last2=김 |first2=웅호 |last3=염 |first3=복규 |last4=김 |first4=영심 |last5=김 |first5=도연 |last6=유 |first6=승희 |last7=박 |first7=준형 |date=2021-11-30 |title=서울도시계획사 1 현대 이전의 도시계획 (서울역사총서 12) |trans-title=History of urban planning in Seoul, Vol. 1., Urban planning before contemporary age |url=https://lib.seoul.go.kr/search/detail/CATTOT000001524017 |language=ko |location=Seoul |publisher=Seoul Historiography Institute |isbn=9791160711301}}</ref>{{rp|96–111}}

The city of Hanyang was governed by {{ill|Hanseongbu|ko|한성부}} ({{Korean|한성부|labels=no}}), an agency of the national government dedicated to affairs on administration of capital city. Hanseongbu divided the Hanyang city into two major category; Areas inside the Fortress Wall, and areas 10 [[Li (unit)|Ri]] (Korean mile) around the Fortress Wall. Former areas were typically named as ''Seong-jung'' ({{Korean|성중|hanja=城中|labels=no}}) or ''Doseong-an'' ({{Korean|도성 안|labels=no|lit=Inside the fortress}}) and latters were named as ''[[Seongjeosimni]]'' ({{Korean|성저십리|hanja=城底十里|lit=10 Ris around the fortress}}). The ''Doseong-an'' area later gained informal but popular name ''Sadaemun-an'' ({{Korean|사대문 안|labels=no}}), which literally means 'areas inside of the [[The Eight Gates of Seoul|Four Great Gates]]', and became the one and only [[Downtown Seoul|downtown (city center) of Hanyang city]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=김 |first1=경록 |last2=유 |first2=승희 |last3=김 |first3=경태 |last4=이 |first4=현진 |last5=정 |first5=은주 |last6=최 |first6=진아 |last7=이 |first7=민우 |last8=진 |first8=윤정 |date=2019-06-03 |title=조선시대 다스림으로 본 성저십리 (서울역사중점연구 5) |trans-title=Seongjeosimni in governance of Joseon (Studies on special topics of Seoul History, Vol. 5.) |url=https://lib.seoul.go.kr/search/detail/CATTOT000001318441 |language=ko |location=Seoul |publisher=Seoul Historiography Institute |isbn=9791160710670}}</ref>{{rp|90–100}}

==== Late period ====
[[File:Korea-Joseon map-Suseon jeondo.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Map of Seoul created 1825–1835 by [[Gim Jeong-ho|Kim Jeong-ho]] and designated National Treasure no 853.]]
In the late 19th century, after hundreds of years of isolation, Seoul opened its gates to foreigners and began to modernize. Seoul became the first city in [[East Asia]] to introduce electricity in the royal palace, built by the [[Edison Illuminating Company]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/images/8/85/Nam-Early_History.pdf|title=Early History of Electrical Engineering in Korea: Edison and First Electric Lighting in the Kingdom of Corea|author=Nam Moon Hyon|work=Promoting the History of EE Jan 23–26, 2000|publisher=Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers|access-date=7 February 2014|archive-date=22 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222020732/http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/images/8/85/Nam-Early_History.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and a decade later Seoul also implemented electrical street lights.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cbRhAQAAQBAJ|title=A History of Korea|author=Kyung Moon Hwang|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|page=142|year=2010|isbn=9780230364523|access-date=9 November 2015|archive-date=25 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125042515/https://books.google.com/books?id=cbRhAQAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>