Seoul

=== Japanese annexation of Korea ===
After the [[Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty|annexation treaty]] in 1910, [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] annexed Korea and renamed the city [[Gyeongseong]] ("Kyongsong" in Korean and "[[Keijō]]" in Japanese). The city saw significant transformation under Japanese colonial rule. Imperial Japan removed the city walls, paved roads, and built Western-style buildings.

Seoul was deprived of its special status as the capital city and downsized under imperial Japan, compared to the traditional notion among people of the [[Joseon]] dynasty that Seoul included the area of approximately {{convert|4|km|mile|sp=us|abbr=on}} radius surrounding the [[Fortress Wall of Seoul|Fortress Wall]] (i.e., [[Outer old Seoul]]; {{Korean|hangul=성저십리|hanja=城底十里|labels=no}}). On October 1, 1910, Imperial Japan demoted Seoul as no different than any other city within the [[Gyeonggi]] province. After Imperial Japan's redistricting, Seoul only included the area inside the [[Fortress Wall of Seoul|Fortress Wall]] and present-day [[Yongsan-gu]]. In the 1930s, as part of Imperial Japan's war efforts leading up to the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]], [[Yeongdeungpo-gu]] was annexed into Seoul on April 1, 1936 to function as an industrial complex for steel and other [[metalworking]] factories.

The city was liberated by U.S. forces at the end of [[World War II]].