Jung District, Seoul

Jung District (Korean: 중구; Hanja: 中區; RR: Junggu; lit. Central District) is one of the 25 districts of Seoul, South Korea.

Jung
중구
Autonomous District
중구 · 中區
Sungnyemun
Sungnyemun
Flag of Junggu
Flag
Location of Jung-gu in Seoul
Location of Jung-gu in Seoul
Coordinates: 37.556°N 126.970°E / 37.556; 126.970
CountrySouth Korea
RegionSudogwon
Special CitySeoul
Administrative dong15
Government
 • MayorKim Kil-sung (2022–) (People Power)
Area
 • Total9.96 km2 (3.85 sq mi)
Population
 (2013[1])
 • Total131,452
 • Density13,000/km2 (34,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+9 (Korea Standard Time)
Postal code..
04500 ~ 04699
Area code(s)+82-2-2200,700
BirdKorean magpie
FlowerRose
TreeJapanese red pine
WebsiteJung-gu official website

Jung has a population of 131,452 (2013) and has a geographic area 9.96 km2 (3.85 sq mi), making it both the least-populous and the smallest district of Seoul, and is divided into 15 dong (administrative neighborhoods). Jung is located at the centre of Seoul on the northern side of the Han River, bordering the city districts of Jongno to the north, Seodaemun to the northwest, Mapo to the west, Yongsan to the south, Seongdong to the southeast, and Dongdaemun to the northeast.

Jung is the historical city center of Seoul with a variety of old and new, including modern facilities such as high rise office buildings, department stores and shopping malls clustered together, and also a center of tradition where historic sites such as Deoksugung and Namdaemun can be found.[2] Jung is home to cultural sites such as the landmark N Seoul Tower on Namsan Mountain, the Myeongdong Cathedral, the Bank of Korea Museum, and the Gwangtonggwan, the oldest continuously-operating bank building in Korea and one of city's protected monuments since March 5, 2001.[3][4] The Myeongdong neighborhood is one of the most famous shopping areas and popular tourist destinations in South Korea. The district has undergone significant redevelopment in the recent decades, especially with the remodeling of Seoul Plaza and the opening up of Cheonggyecheon, previously covered by an elevated highway.

Administrative divisions
Administrative divisions
Neighborhood Hangul Hanja
Cheonggu-dong 청구동 靑丘洞
Dasan-dong 다산동 茶山洞
Donghwa-dong 동화동 東化洞
Euljiro-dong 을지로동 乙支路洞
Gwanghui-dong 광희동 光熙洞
Hoehyeon-dong 회현동 會賢洞
Hwanghak-dong 황학동 黃鶴洞
Jangchung-dong 장충동 奬忠洞
Jungnim-dong 중림동 中林洞
Myeong-dong 명동 明洞
Pil-dong 필동 筆洞
Sindang-dong 신당동 新堂洞
Sindang 5-dong 신당제5동 新堂第5洞
Sogong-dong 소공동 小公洞
Yaksu-dong 약수동 藥水洞

Economy
Jung District
Cheonggyecheon, 2008

Jung District is one of the most significant business cores of Seoul with many companies being based around Sejong-daero or Eulji-ro. Notable companies based in Jung District include Hanhwa, Shinsegae, Hanjin, Doosan Corporation, SK Telecom, LG U+, Daewoo International, Daehan Logistics, Ssangyong Cement, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Lotte Shopping and many more. Also, many banking and other financial companies have headquarters in Jung District, such as KB Financial Group, Woori Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group, Hana Financial Group, Korea Life Insurance, Samsung Life Insurance, Industrial Bank of Korea, Korean Exchange Bank, Samsung Card. Major newspapers such as The Chosun Ilbo and JoongAng Ilbo, The Dong-a Ilbo are also based in Jung District.

The headquarters of South Korean food company CJ Cheil Jedang is in the CJ Cheiljedang Building in Ssangnim-dong, near the Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station.[5]

Tourism

Jung-Gu contains numerous popular tourist spots, both modern historical & modern.[6] These include Deoksugung, Cheonggyecheon, Seoul Plaza, Namsan Tower, Dongdaemun Design Plaza, the Myeongdong Cathedral, the Bank of Korea Museum and the popular shopping district of Myeongdong. To support tourists visiting the district there are tour buses which operate from Sejong-daero and the Seoul Metropolitan Government provide tourist support services.

Jung District also hosts several major duty free stores, including Shilla, Shinsegae & Lotte. These, along with Myeongdong, constitute the busiest tourist shopping area in the city.[7]

One of the most recent tourist developments in the district in Seoullo 7017. The development, also known as the Seoul Skygarden or Skypark, is an elevated, linear park built atop a former highway overpass connecting the western and eastern sides of Seoul Station. The development was modeled on the High Line in New York City.

Foreign operations

Air France operates a ticketing office on the 11th floor of the Korean Air Building in Jung District.[8] Air China has an office on the 1st and 2nd floors of the Hansuang Building in Seosomun-dong in Jung District.[9] All Nippon Airways operates the Seoul Office in Room 1501 on the 15th floor of the Center Building in Sogong-dong, Jung District.[10] Hainan Airlines operates its South Korea office in Suite 1501 of the Samyoung Building in Sogong-dong.[11] MIAT Mongolian Airlines has its Seoul Branch Office in the Soonhwa Building in Sunhwa-dong.[12]

Former operations

In the 1980s Korean Air had its headquarters in Jung District.[13] Its current headquarters are located in Gonghang-dong, Gangseo-gu.

Transport
Seoul Station concourse

Rail and Metro

Being the central district of the city, Jung District is connected to numerous subway lines and shares Seoul Station with Yongsan-Gu (the station straddles the border between the two districts). Seoul Station is served by intercity rail services run by KORAIL (KTX, ITX, Mugunghwa & tourist services) as well as AREX Airport Railroad services. Seoul Station is also served by Lines 1 and 4 of the Seoul Metro. the station also features a large multi-lane bus station immediately adjacent to the eastern (main) entrance.

Buses

Aside from Seoul station, the district is well served by both buses and subway lines. Lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 all run through the district. Local (green), city (blue) and express (red) buses operate throughout the district.

Government
Seoul Plaza, Deoksugung, Seoul Anglican Cathedral and the British Embassy.

Seoul City Hall is located within Jung District. The current building, which was opened in 2012, sits beside the former building, which is now home to Seoul Metropolitan Library. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has its headquarters in the Gumsegi Building in Jung District.

The Korean Maritime Safety Tribunal (KMST) formerly had its headquarters in the S1 Building in Sunhwa-dong, Jung District.[14][15] The offices of the KMST are now in Sejong City.

Diplomatic missions

Being at the center of the city, the district hosts numerous foreign embassies.[16]

Education
Dongguk University

Tertiary education

Dongguk University, a private, coeducational university established in 1906, is located in Jung District. The University achieved full university status in 1953 and is one of the few Buddhist-affiliated universities in the world.

Primary & Secondary Education

The Russian Embassy School in Seoul[17] It was established on May 31, 2002 and operates as part of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Seoul Chinese Primary School (also known as Hanxiao Chinese Primary School) in Myeong-dong[18] It is a Taiwanese-oriented international primary school.

Symbol

Historic figures

Jung District has long been considered the center of Seoul. As a result, historically it was considered a fitting place for many scholars who stayed in Seoul to discuss and pursue crucial academic or political subjects during the Joseon Dynasty.

Landmarks

Sister cities

References
  1. "월별인구통계 | 중구통계". Archived from the original on 2013-09-28. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  2. 김, 백영 (August 2007). "제국의 스펙터클 효과와 식민지 대중의 도시경헙". 사회와 역사. 75: 77–113.
  3. Lee, Jun-Ho (2005-08-14). "最古 은행건물 우리銀 종로점 (The Oldest Bank Building the Woori Bank Jongno Branch)". Kyunghyang Sinmun.
  4. "광통관 (廣通館) (Gwangtonggwan)". Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea. 2002. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  5. "Company location". CJ Cheil Jedang. Retrieved 9 October 2012.
  6. "Travel Highlights : VisitKorea Travel Highlights Bucket List: Most Popular Korean Attractions of 2019 | Official Korea Tourism Organization". English.visitkorea.or.kr. 2022-01-25. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  7. "Duty Free Shops : VisitKorea".
  8. "11th floor, Korean Air Building Archived 2012-02-13 at the Wayback Machine." Air France. Retrieved on January 16, 2009.
  9. "International Offices Archived 2008-12-17 at the Wayback Machine." Air China. Retrieved on January 18, 2009.
  10. "ANA city offices Asia Archived 2016-03-05 at the Wayback Machine." All Nippon Airways. Retrieved on August 13, 2011. "Seoul Office Room 1501, 15F Center Bldg. 91-1, Sogong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul"
  11. "Contact Us Archived 2009-02-08 at the Wayback Machine." Hainan Airlines. Retrieved on January 18, 2009.
  12. "Contact Us Archived 2010-07-02 at the Wayback Machine." MIAT Mongolian Airlines. Retrieved on June 27, 2010. "SEOUL BRANCH OFFICE 9th Floor, Soonhwa Building 5–2 Sunhwa-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul 100–130, Korea"
  13. "World Airline Directory." Flight International. May 16, 1981. 1444.
  14. "footer_copy.gif." Korean Maritime Safety Tribunal. Retrieved on January 17, 2012. "168 S1building, Sunhwa-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea 110-793"
  15. "Location." (Archive of Related Page) Korean Maritime Safety Tribunal. Retrieved on January 17, 2012. "168 S1building, Sunhwa-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, 100-773, Republic of Korea"
  16. "주한공관주소록". 외교부. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  17. "Основные сведения Archived 2016-04-04 at the Wayback Machine." Russian Embassy School in Seoul. Retrieved on March 30, 2016. "11 гил-43, Сеосомун-ро, Чунг-гу, г. Сеул, 100–120, Республика Корея"
  18. "SEOUL CHINESE PRIMARY SCHOOL." International School Information, Government of South Korea. Retrieved on March 30, 2016.
  19. Tey-Marie Astudillo; Frances Cha (3 January 2012). "Seoul's most expensive hotel suites". CNN Go. Archived from the original on 2012-07-24. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  20. "어지럽게 솟는다 용산 615m, 중구 960m : 이슈추적 : 특집 : 한겨레21". legacy.h21.hani.co.kr.
  21. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2020-06-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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