The Characteristics of Joseon Dynasty's Capital City of Hanyang

Hanyang 漢陽 remained the only and one capital in the course of the entire Joseon dynasty. There existed no city in the country that rivalled Hanyang in terms of administrative systems and population size. Although there had a time during the early Joseon dynasty when Gaeseong 開城 functioned as an auxiliary capital, it gradually lost its ground with the stabilization of political primacy of the capital city of Hanyang. During the reign of King Jeongjo, Suwon Hwaseong 水原華城 was built as an auxiliary capital under the idea of operating a dual-capital system. The plan however was thwarted by the precocious death of King Jeongjo. It was during the Korean Empire period at the end of the 19th century that the dual-capital system was actualized with Pyeongyang as West Capital 西京. In the pre-modern East Asia, the capital city had been conceived as the earthly reflection of the heavenly order. In this sense, topography and spatial representation of capital cities were regulated in many ways. As the city of Hanyang had to be built in consideration its natural environment, it was inevitable that the ideal of embodying heavenly order on earth was implemented to a limited extent in the city's construction. The fact that Hanyang had to remain as mere one of vassal cities subject to the Sinocentric world-order played a decisive role in constraining severely the possibilities of expressing the dignity and prestige appropriate to a capital city. And they were further weakened and restricted by the power of aristocratic Yangban, whose control extended to the point that it restricted the central power of the Kingship itself. Hence the one particular feature in spatial representation of the capital city that the royal palace conceded its demand of the centrality to the places where people used to gather such as bell tower and market place.