Many sources call Gwangjang Market “Korea's first permanent market,” but its opening year and the date of its operating company's establishment are variously given as 1904 and 1905. More important than choosing one commemorative day is the broader process: in the final years of the Korean Empire, Korean merchants sought to establish a modern market that opened every day while responding to the growing control of commerce by Japanese capital. The founding is best understood as a process spanning 1904 and 1905.
A flood changed the plan for a market between Gwanggyo and Janggyo
The original plan placed the market along Cheonggyecheon between Gwanggyo and Janggyo bridges, but a major flood in 1904 altered the conditions. After consultation with the capital government, the organizers settled around today's Jongno 5-ga and Yeji-dong. One widely repeated explanation says the market's Korean name, *Gwangjang*, combines the first syllables of Gwanggyo and Janggyo.
A permanent market organized trade beyond the traditional market day
Many traditional markets opened only on specified three-day or five-day cycles. Gwangjang Market aimed to maintain shops and an operating organization for daily trade. Early merchandise included agricultural and marine products, firewood and charcoal, and household necessities. Its range and scale expanded with nearby transportation and the growth of the Dongdaemun commercial district.
The label “national market” also requires context
Gwangjang is sometimes described as a *minjok sijang*, or Korean national market, because Korean capital responded to Japanese commercial expansion. That does not establish that every merchant shared one political intention. Economic survival, investment, and changes in urban commerce operated together. Separating a later narrative of national pride from the practical structure of the business reveals a more complex founding history.