Gwanghuimun (Korean: 광희문; Hanja: 光熙門; lit. 'Bright Light Gate'; also known as Southeast Gate) is one of The Eight Gates of Seoul in the Fortress Wall of Seoul, South Korea, which surrounded the city in the Joseon period. The gate is also known as Namsomun (남소문; lit. 'South Small Gate'). It was originally called Sugumun (수구문; 水口門; lit. 'Water Channel Gate').
History
Gwanghuimun was originally built in 1396, and was rebuilt from 1711 to 1719. It was the only gate to be left virtually untouched during the Japanese Occupation. However, it was largely destroyed during the Korean War, but was restored in 1976. Gwanghuimun was completed in September 1396 (the 5th year of King Taejo's reign) alongside other fortress gates. At this time, it was constructed between Heunginjimun and Mokmyeoksan (as well as Taraksan), located south of the Igansumun water gate, where the Namsomundongcheon stream meets the Cheonggyecheon stream. The wooden gate pavilion (munru) was built as a single-story structure, measuring 3칸 (kan) in the front and 2칸 on the sides, with a hip roof (Ujingak shape). It was primarily used by commoners; there is no historical record of a king using Gwanghuimun, except when the king fled to Namhansanseong in a palanquin during the Byeongja Horan (Manchu invasion).
Through various wars, all the gate pavilions of the Fortress Wall of Seoul were destroyed, except for Sungnyemun and Heunginjimun. King Sukjong and King Yeongjo reconstructed these destroyed pavilions, and Gwanghuimun was the very first to be rebuilt. In 1711 (the 37th year of King Sukjong's reign), Min Jin-hu proposed the reconstruction of Gwanghuimun, which was accepted, and the Geumwiyoung (Military Command), which was in charge of managing Gwanghuimun, began construction in February. At this time, instead of making it a double-story structure like Sungnyemun and Heunginjimun, it was planned as a single-story structure, following the precedent of the gates at Namhansanseong. By April 11 of the following year, the stone foundation (yuktuk) of 9칸 was rebuilt, and an arched gate (hongyemun) was installed. However, it was decided to rebuild the wooden pavilion later after securing enough timber, and the wood gathered up to that point was instead used for the reconstruction of Doneuimun . Based on Min Jin-hu's statement on January 25, 1719 (the 45th year of King Sukjong's reign) that "all gate pavilions were erected after the fortress wall was built at the beginning of the dynasty," it is believed to have been completed before that date, and a new hanging plaque (pyonaek) was installed in February. The traditional decorative coloring (Dancheong) was painted in 1744, the 20th year of King Yeongjo's reign. During the Japanese colonial period, due to a lack of proper management, the battlements (yeojang) of the pavilion collapsed, and hygiene issues arose as beggars loitered around the area. Consequently, in 1928, the Historical Relics Preservation Society demolished the wooden pavilion along with Hyehwamun, citing difficulties in management due to a lack of funds. The stone foundation was not demolished and remained intact even after the Korean War. In 1966, its demolition was debated again for the expansion of Toegyero, but it was ultimately decided to preserve it. In 1975, because it stood in the middle of the road like an island and obstructed the main road connecting Toegyero and Wangsimni, the gate was dismantled and restored 12 meters to the south. During this restoration, a new 12-평 (pyeong) gate pavilion was built, and the surrounding 200 pyeong was turned into a green space. The calligraphy for the hanging plaque at this time was written by Kim Eung-hyun. On February 17, 2014, it was opened to the general public for the first time in 39 years, and in April of the same year, the local district office introduced the 'Gwanghuimun Fortress Course' so that tourists could step inside the second-floor gate pavilion.
Architectural features The stone foundation (yuktuk) of Gwanghuimun measures 6 meters in height and 8.7 meters in width. Similar to other gates of the city, excluding Sungnyemun and Heunginjimun, it features a single-story wooden gate pavilion (munru). The height of this pavilion is 5.9 meters. The roof is built in the Ujingak shape (a hip roof structure) utilizing the choikgong style. Following the traditional iconography of the Four Auspicious Beasts (Sashindo), the ceiling of the arched entrance (hongye) features a Blue Dragon and a Yellow Dragon facing each other with a cintamani (yeouiju) between them, a design highly similar to the one found at Heunginjimun. On the sloping ridges (chunyewandu) of the roof, a decorative dragon head (yongdu) and seven ornamental japsang figurines are placed, which perfectly aligns with the architectural conventions of other single-story gate pavilions.
Usage
Ganmun (Intermediary Gate) The gates of the Fortress Wall of Seoul were strictly categorized into main gates (jeongmun) and intermediary gates (ganmun), with Gwanghuimun belonging to the latter. Consequently, when welcoming foreign envoys, diplomatic protocols dictated that Japanese envoys—who held a neighborly diplomatic relation under the traditional policy of Sadae kyorin—were required to enter the capital through Gwanghuimun, which functioned as a designated ganmun. Furthermore, there were significant differences in the daily opening/closing procedures and the deployment of guarding military forces. Unlike the main gates, which were heavily guarded by a fourth-senior rank Hogun officer and 30 gatekeepers (sumunbyeong), Gwanghuimun was guarded by two junior-sixth rank Bujang officers and 10 gatekeepers. The operational protocols also varied; while the main gates required both the royal Sunjeonpyoshin and Buheom tokens to be opened, Gwanghuimun could be opened with just the Gaemunpyoshin token. However, on days when the gate had to remain open continuously, the royal Sunjeonpyoshin token was dispatched to Gwanghuimun as well.
Sigumun (Corpse Gate)
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