The name Myeongdong now evokes brightness, fashion, and dense retail, but that identity was not embedded in the place name from the beginning. Joseon's capital administration included a district called Myeongnyebang, and part of today's Myeongdong falls within its broader historical area. Between the valleys and hills north of Namsan stood government-related facilities and homes occupied by people of different ranks, including elite yangban families, technical and professional middle groups, and ordinary residents.
Japanese settlement expanded south of Cheonggyecheon after Korea opened its ports
From the 1880s, the Japanese legation, merchants, banks, and distributors spread around the northern foot of Namsan toward Jingogae, Chungmuro, and Myeongdong. While Jongno remained a central Korean commercial street, the Bonjeong area became the leading district of Japanese commerce and consumption in colonial Gyeongseong, as Seoul was officially called under Japanese rule. Road improvements, trams, banks, department stores, and theaters reinforced that centrality.
Honmachi represented both metropolitan glamour and colonial power
Honmachi was a common Japanese name for a city's main commercial quarter. Gyeongseong's Honmachi introduced new products and fashions, but its growth rested on colonial authority and urban investment that disproportionately served Japanese residents. A nostalgic reconstruction of bright shop windows alone conceals the divide between those who could use the district freely and those excluded from its consumption.
After liberation, Myeongdong acquired a new name and new users
In 1946, Seoul replaced Japanese-style neighborhood names and adopted Myeongdong as an administrative place name. The physical buildings and commercial foundations remained, but store ownership, customers, and cultural meaning changed. The colonial shopping district did not simply continue unchanged under a Korean name, nor was an entirely new neighborhood born overnight. Myeongdong's history contains rupture and continuity at the same time.