Key takeaways
The name "Buam-dong" (付岩洞, literally "stone-attached neighborhood") comes from a stone called Bujim-bawi that stood here until 1970. Local legend held that if a woman rubbed the stone as many times as her age, it would help her conceive a son — over generations, the surface was said to have been worn into a honeycomb of small pits. Fact For readers unfamiliar with Seoul's old city gates: Hanyangdoseong, the Joseon-dynasty wall that once encircled what is now central Seoul, had four Great Gates and four smaller Minor Gates. Changuimun (彰義門) is one of those four Minor Gates, better known by its nickname Jahamun. It sits exactly at the saddle where Mt. Bukak and Mt. Inwang meet. Fact
Administratively, Buam-dong lay outside the old capital's official boundary during the Joseon dynasty and was only absorbed into Seoul's Jongno district (Jongno-gu) in 1975. Fact That old inside/outside-the-wall boundary lines up almost exactly with today's development-restriction boundary — which is the first clue to understanding this neighborhood.
What to look for on site
- Where Changuimun's gate tower connects to the remaining fortress wall
- The exact point on the pass where "inside the wall" (toward Gyeongbokgung Palace) becomes "outside the wall" (toward Buam-dong)
- Why the nickname "Jahamun" is used more often than the formal name "Changuimun"
Editorial note
Records suggest the Bujim-bawi stone itself no longer survives in its original form due to road construction, so this guide does not claim you can see the actual stone — only its story as the source of the neighborhood's name. Unverified