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Geumho-dong & Oksu-dong · 📖

A Shantytown Rose Over a Scholars' Study Hall, and a Park Rose Over the Shantytown

Dokseodang Park sits on the site of Donghodokseodang, a Joseon-era study hall where scholars once studied, and also on the site of the shantytown zones known as Geumho Districts 1 through 7, later cleared to make way for the park.

Key takeaways

Records suggest that a study hall called Donghodokseodang once stood in the Mt. Eungbong area, where Joseon-era government officials received leave to devote themselves to scholarship. Fact Later, the shantytown zones known as Geumho Districts 1 through 7 grew up near this same site, and after their demolition, Dokseodang Park was built here in December 2009. Fact

Within a single park, the memory of a Joseon-era scholarly retreat overlaps with the memory of 20th-century urban poverty. However, the exact original location and scale of the study hall remain disputed, so this guide does not state it as settled fact. Unverified

What to look for on site

Original, site-only, restored, or recreated?

Avoid describing this park as "a faithful restoration of the historic study hall."