The Remains of the Old Urban Structure after the Destruction of Cheongju Castle, Korea

Abstract

This study examines the waterway, road and lot systems sustained even after the destruction of Cheongju Castle in the early 20th century in Seongan-dong, Cheongju, a historical city in the inland of South Korea. Seongan-dong, where Cheongju Castle is located, has a ship-like form with the waterway system of Musimcheon Stream that flows backwards. The main current and tributary of Gyoseocheon Stream that flowed in and out of the town castle had served as a drain, and is currently serving as a street network after being covered at the end of the century. As for the road system, there is a rounded-square street network that shows traces of the destroyed town fortress, an orthogonal street network centered on Seongan-gil that connects the south gate to the north gate of the fortress, and dendritic type alleys in the residential district outside the south gate where the tributary of Gyoseocheon Stream had flowed. For the lot system, large-scale lots for government office, guesthouse and barracks at the center of the town castle are now a government office building and park. Large-scale and small-scale lots are subdivided around Seongan-gil and Nammun-gil, where commercial activities took place, but more than 90% of the division lines of the original lot still remain. As such, 3 important factors that set the direction for the urban landscape of Cheongju include: (1) the restorable waterway system that is still sustained even after 100 years of the modern period, (2) the orderly road system stretched north and south, and (3) the lot system that determines certain sizes and forms of buildings.