Introduction

Ikseon-dong is a key area in the four main gates, surrounded by Jongmyo Shrine and Unhyeon Palace, which have been used as the royal palace of Joseon for 261 years, and is geographically located in the center of Jongno-gu. If you come out of Exit 6 of Jongno 3-ga Station and go north along the alleyway, you can see Hanok Island and Ikseon-dong Hanok Village, which is located in the city where there are many Korean-style houses on the street.

Ikseon-dong, the center of politics and administration during the Joseon Dynasty, was designated as a commercial area during the Japanese colonial rule, and the entire city was ring-fenced as a commercial area for building Seoul in 1970, which served as a center of entertainment in which industries involved with various artistic cultures joined.
Currently, Ikseon-dong is a commercial area with bunch of 330 shops (as of 2018), such as restaurants, hospitality, wholesale and retail stores, and is visited by many people looking for a unique shopping district that has renovated Hanok.

History

Ikseon-dong

Ikseon-dong belonged to Jeongseonbang in the central part of Hanseong-bu in the fifth year of King Taejo (1396), and it belonged to the upper and lower bound of Donnyeong-bu of the central Joengseonbang in 27th year of King Yeongjo. In 1895, it contains districts of Donnyeong-dong, Han-dong, Ik-dong, Lu-dong, Gung-dong, and Ni-dong in the Joengseonbang of Hanseong-bu. In 1910, the area was changed from the middle west of Hansung-bu to the central part of Gyeongseong-bu. Some areas of Gung-dong, Ik-dong, Donnyeong-dong, Ni-dong, and Han-dong, which was reorganized in 1911, were newly integrated in 1914 and called Ikseon-dong. The name of Ikseon-dong was coined in 1914 after taking the word "ik" from Ik-dong, which has been the name of dong-ri in the area since the Joseon Dynasty, and after the word "seon" from Jeongseonbang.

In Ik-dong during the Joseon Dynasty, there was Nudong Palace, the private mansion and shrine of the 25th king of Cheoljong, where descendants of Yeongpyeong-gun Lee Gyeong-eung, Cheoljong’s older brother, lived reportedly until the Japanese colonial period. Since then, real estate developer Jeong Se-kwon has bought 166, 33 and 19 Iksong-dong, including Nudong Palace, divided them into small-scale fields, and built and bargained small-sized Hanoks, forming the framework of the Hanok village in Ikseon-dong as it is today.

At 34-8 Ikseon-dong, where tourist hotels are located, there was Ojinam, called the Three Fairies in the 1970s and 1980s, along with Daewongak and Samcheongak. Ojinam, the first restaurant registered in Seoul and one of the most popular commercial Hanoks in the early 1910s, was the house where painter Lee Byung-jik lived and the historic venue for discussing the July 4 South-North Joint Statement that led to the settlement of the Cold War era between the two Koreas in 1972. Ojinam was demolished in 2010 as a tourist hotel was built, with its elements being relocated to 315-3 Buam-dong, which is being used as a center for traditional cultural facilities for residents at Mugyewon.

Present Condition

Present Condition

Ikseon-dong, a town with a unique, bashful charm

Ikseon-dong is located in Beopjeong-dong, Jongno-gu, surrounded by Waryong-dong on the east, Gyeong-dong on the west, Don-dong on the south and Unni-dong on the north, and there are118 houses of Hanok built before the 1930s.
Seoul designated this area as a Hanok concentrated area in 2018 and is providing business support for the preservation and promotion of Hanok.

Ikseon-dong was a place where people couldn't reach well just a few years ago. In 2004, it was designated as a maintenance area, and was pushed for redevelopment, but was canceled when the redevelopment union establishment committee was dissolved in 2014. Since then, a variety of shops, such as cafes and vintage shops that have renovated Hanoks, have been launched and the business district has been revitalized, becoming a popular place for many people
There are some relatively large Hanoks with a 50-pyeong size in the Ikseon-dong Hanok Village, but mostly there are less than 30-pyeong-sized Hanoks concentrated, which is relatively small and compact compared to Bukchon. In addition, traces of Pimat-gil (Donhwamun-ro 11ga-gil) and alleyways (Donhwamun-ro 11na-gil), which have been existed since the Goryeo Dynasty, show the long history of Ikseon-dong along with Hanok Village.