Seodaemun District

Seodaemun 서대문구
Autonomous District
서대문구 · 西大門區
A street at night in Sinchon-dong
Location of Seodaemun-gu in Seoul
Country	South Korea
Region	Sudogwon
Special City	Seoul
Administrative dong	14
Government
• Mayor	Moon Seok-Jin (Democratic United)
• Council	Seodaemun District Council
• Members of the Seoul Metropolitan Council	신원철 (Democratic United) 1st Electoral District 박운기 (Democratic United) 2nd Electoral District 김태희 (Democratic United) 3rd Electoral District 조상호 (Democratic United) 4th Electoral District
• Members of the National Assembly	Sung Hun Lee (Saenuri) Seodaemun-gu Gap district Doo-Un Chung (Saenuri) Seodaemun-gu Eul district
Area
• Total	17.61 km2 (6.80 sq mi)
Population (2010)
• Total	313,814
• Density	18,000/km2 (46,000/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	서대문구민 (Seodaemun gumin)
Time zone	Korea Standard Time (UTC+9)
Postal code	03600 ~ 03899
Area code	+82-2,300,700,3150~
Flower	Rose
Tree	Pine tree
Bird	Korean magpie
Website	Seodaemun-gu official website

Seodaemun District (Seodaemun-gu) is a gu located in northwestern Seoul, South Korea. The name derives from Seodaemun, meaning literally "Great West Gate", which was once located in the district. Seodaemun was one of the four great gates of the city wall surrounding the Joseon capital of Hanyang (only Dongdaemun and Namdaemun survive intact, though the latter was destroyed by arson in 2008 and only recently rebuilt).

Seodaemun District consists of 14 "administrative dong"s (haengjeong-dong 행정동).

At one time the Korean Maritime Safety Tribunal (KMST) had its headquarters in the district.

Seobu District Office of Education under the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education operates public schools in Seodaemun District.

There are also numerous private institutions in Seodaemun District offering education for primary and secondary levels.

Private primary and secondary schools:

Private institutions offering higher education in Seodaemun District are Chugye University for the Arts, Ewha Womans University, Kyonggi University, Methodist Theological University, Myongji College, Myongji University, Seoul School of Integrated Sciences & Technologies, Seoul Women's College of Nursing, and Yonsei University.

Seodaemun District also has a public library called Lee Jin Ah Memorial Library. The construction of the library was made possible through a generous donation by the parents of the namesake Lee. Lee's Parents, after losing Lee in a tragic lethal accident, wanted to commemorate the life of their daughter who enjoyed reading. Since the opening on Lee's anniversary in 2005, the main library now has approximately over 76,000 books.