Gwangtonggwan
| Gwangtonggwan | |
|---|---|
| Gwangtonggwan | |
 |
|
| Former names | Daehan Cheon-il Bank |
| Alternative names | Uri Eunhaeng Jongno-Jijeom (Woori Bank Jongno Branch) |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Eclectic |
| Location | Seoul, Korea |
| Address | 19 Namdaemunno 1-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul |
| Coordinates | 37°34′03″N 126°58′59″E / 37.56750°N 126.98306°E |
| Construction started | February 1908 |
| Completed | 1909 |
| Renovated | 1915 |
| Owner | Woori Bank |
| Technical details | |
| Floor area | 774 square meters |
| Design and construction | |
| Architecture firm | Takjibu, Korean Empire |
Gwangtonggwan (Hangul: 광통관; Hanja: 廣通館), located in Seoul, is one of Korea's oldest bank buildings. Its address is 19 Namdaemunno 1-ga, Jung-gu, Seoul. Currently the Woori Bank's Jongno Branch, it is also the oldest continuously operating bank building in Korea.
Constructed in 1909, Gwangtonggwan is one of the few surviving examples of Korea's early 20th century western architecture. In recognition of the building's architectural and historic importance, Gwangtonggwan was registered as the one of city's protected monuments on March 5, 2001.
Gwangtonggwan was built in 1909 originally as a head office for Daehan Cheon-il Bank and Suhyeongjohap. Daehan Cheon-il Bank, established in 1899 and supported by the Emperor Gojong of the Korean Empire, was a Korean bank aimed to preserve Korea's national capital assets against the growing influences of the Japanese banks over Korea's finances. The building itself was designed by the architecture and construction office of the Takjibu, the Ministry of Finance of the Korean Empire. The construction of this building was finished in July 1909.
However, a fire occurred in February 1914, and the building's detail was much altered from its original form when it was restored and reopened in 1915. Since this building was located near Gwangtonggyo Bridge, a historic and important bridge of Seoul that crosses Cheonggyecheon, it came to be called as "Gwangtonggwan." The Korean term "gyo (교; 橋)" translates in English as "bridge," while "gwan" (관; 館) translates as "building" or "house."
Following Japan's annexation of Korean Empire in 1910, Cheon-il Bank changed its name to Joseon Sangup Bank in 1911, and moved its head offices from Gwangtonggwan to a different location in 1924. The building therefore became the Sangup Bank's Jongno branch on August 31, 1924.
Joseon Sangup bank changed its name to Hanguk Sangup Bank (also known as Commercial Bank of Korea) when Korea was liberated, changed its name to Hanbit Bank in 1998, and then again to Woori Bank in 2002, but Gwangtonggwan still maintains and continues its banking operations as a Jongno branch.
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