Government-General of Chōsen Building

The Government-General of Chōsen Building, also known as the Japanese General Government Building and the Seoul Capitol, was a building located in Jongno District of Seoul, South Korea, from 1926 to 1996.

The Government-General Building was constructed by the Empire of Japan on the site of the Gyeongbokgung complex, the royal palace of the Joseon, and was the largest government building in East Asia. The Government-General Building served as the chief administrative building of Chōsen and the seat of its governor-general in Keijō from 1926 until 1945. The Government-General Building was the scene of numerous important events after South Korean independence in 1948, becoming the seat of the National Assembly of South Korea and housing offices of the Government of South Korea until 1950 when it was damaged during the Korean War and intentionally left derelict. President Park Chung Hee restored the Government-General Building from 1962 for government functions until the early 1980s; it housed the National Museum of South Korea from 1986.

Until its demolition, the building was long felt to be a symbol of Japanese imperialism and an impediment to the reconstruction of Gyeongbokgung. The Government-General Building was controversially planned for demolition in 1993, and was eventually demolished between 1995 and 1996.

Prior to the 1910 annexation, the Japanese Residency-General of Korea [ko; ja] operated out of the three-story Japanese Residency-General of Korea Building on the mountain Namsan. However, that building was too small for the operations needed to manage the annexed Korea. In 1912, they finalized plans to create the Government-General of Chōsen Building at Gyeongbokgung. The decision to build it at the palace was a symbolic assertion of Japan's authority in Korea.

It was designed from 1912 to 1914 by German architect Georg de Lalande [de]. De Lalande had lived in Japan since 1901 and had designed buildings there and in Korea until he died in 1914. After de Lalande's death, the designs were taken over by Japanese architects Ichiro Nomura [ja] and Hirushi Kunieda [ja]. Groundbreaking for the building was held on June 25, 1916. The topping out ceremony for the building was held on May 17, 1923. On October 1, 1926, a ceremony for the building's completion was held.

Japanese rule in Korea ended upon the surrender of Japan in August 1945 and the United States occupied the territory of Korea south of the 38th parallel (including Seoul) where the United States Army Military Government in Korea was established. The US occupation government renamed the Government-General Building to Capitol Hall, and it became internationally known as the Seoul Capitol. On 31 May 1948, the Government-General Building became the seat of South Korea's Constituent National Assembly, the precursor to the National Assembly. On 24 July, the swearing in ceremony of Syngman Rhee as the first president of South Korea was held in front of the Government-General Building. On 15 August, the inauguration of the First Republic occurred at the Government-General Building following the official transfer of power from the US occupation government. The Government-General Building also became the first seat of National Assembly and was occupied by a variety of government offices.

The Government-General Building was heavily damaged following the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950 when North Korea's Korean People's Army invaded South Korea. North Korea's forces briefly occupied the building as an army headquarters until United Nations forces recaptured Seoul in September 1950. The North Koreans set fire to the Government-General Building upon their retreat, completely destroying the interior. The building remained ruined and abandoned for the remainder of the war. President Rhee refused to either repair or reoccupy the building as its ruin was considered symbolic of the end of Japanese occupation while its outdoor space was utilized as an outdoor music hall.

Following Park Chung Hee's May 16 coup in 1961 that established the Supreme Council of National Reconstruction, the Government-General Building was restored to serve two more decades as the seat of government. On 22 November 1962, General Park carried out extensive repair and refurbishing work on the derelict Government-General Building to use it as much-needed offices for the central government. As a witness to the major political and social upheavals of modern Korean history, the building housed government offices including that of the prime minister until the early 1980s when new quarters were constructed nearby. In 1968, the Western-style front gate was demolished for the reconstruction of Gwanghwamun, the main and largest gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace. In 1970, many government offices were moved to the newly constructed Central Government Complex located adjacent to the Government-General Building.