engineering

Gwangtonggwan

Gwangtonggwan is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Gwangtonggwan rather than just read about it. In short: Gwangtonggwan (Korean: 광통관; Hanja: 廣通館) is a building at 19 Namdaemunno 1-ga, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea. Built in 1909, it is one of Korea's oldest bank buildings.

Key takeaways

Gwangtonggwan belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Gwangtonggwan to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Gwangtonggwan from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Gwangtonggwan (Korean: 광통관; Hanja: 廣通館) is a building at 19 Namdaemunno 1-ga, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea. Built in 1909, it is one of Korea's oldest bank buildings. Currently the Woori Bank's Jongno Branch, it is also the oldest continuously operating bank building in Korea. Constructed in 1909, Gwangtonggwan is one of the few surviving examples of Korea's early 20th century western architecture. In recognition of the building's architectural and historic importance, Gwangtonggwan was registered as the one of city's protected monuments on March 5, 2001.

History Gwangtonggwan was built in 1909 originally as a head office for Daehan Cheon-il Bank and Suhyeongjohap. Daehan Cheon-il Bank, established in 1899 and supported by the Emperor Gojong of the Korean Empire, was a Korean bank aimed to preserve Korea's national capital assets against the growing influences of the Japanese banks over Korea's finances. The building itself was designed by the architecture and construction office of the Takjibu, the Ministry of Finance of the Korean Empire. The construction of this building was finished in July 1909. However, a fire occurred in February 1914, and the building's detail was much altered from its original form when it was restored and reopened in 1915. Since this building was located near Gwangtonggyo Bridge, a historic and important bridge of Seoul that crosses Cheonggyecheon, it came to be called as "Gwangtonggwan". The Korean term "gyo" (교; 橋) translates in English as "bridge", while "gwan" (관; 館) translates as "building" or "house". Following Japan's annexation of Korean Empire in 1910, Cheon-il Bank changed its name to Joseon Sangup Bank in 1911, and moved its head offices from Gwangtonggwan to a different location in 1924. The building therefore became the Sangup Bank's Jongno branch on August 31, 1924. Joseon Sangup bank changed its name to Hanguk Sangup Bank (also known as Commercial Bank of Korea) when Korea was liberated, changed its name to Hanbit Bank in 1998, and then again to Woori Bank in 2002, but Gwangtonggwan still maintains and continues its banking operations as a Jongno branch.

Architecture

Mainly built from red bricks and granite, the Gwangtonggwan building has a symmetrical layout which roughly covers 774 square meters. The first floor of this building was designed and served as a bank, while the second floor was designed for conference rooms and offices. When it was originally constructed in 1909, the building had Ionic pilasters, but during the reconstruction following the fire in 1914, the Ionic capitals were removed and baroque decorations were added instead to the pilasters. Today's building has circular and arched windows, decorated pilasters, two baroque-styled domes with finials, two dormer windows, and a detailed pediment consisting of a half-circular window. Rejecting references to a traditional Korean architecture, the architects designed Gwangtonggwan in an eclectic and westernized style. The main entrance is flanked by two Tuscan columns, and its entablature bears an inscription, "朝鮮商業銀行鐘路支店" (조선상업은행 종로지점; Joseon Sangup Bank Jongno Branch), inscribed from right to left following the old Korean tradition of writing. Two other entrances on either side of the main entrance also are flanked by two Tuscan columns, but are no longer used as entrances.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Gwangtonggwan

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Gwangtonggwan claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Gwangtonggwan before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Gwangtonggwan ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Gwangtonggwan

In research: Gwangtonggwan appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Gwangtonggwan in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Gwangtonggwan is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1909 establishments in Korea, Bank buildings in South Korea, Banks of South Korea, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Gwangtonggwan outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Gwangtonggwan in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Gwangtonggwan means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Gwangtonggwan out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gwangtonggwan in simple terms?

Gwangtonggwan (Korean: 광통관; Hanja: 廣通館) is a building at 19 Namdaemunno 1-ga, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea. Built in 1909, it is one of Korea's oldest bank buildings.

Why does Gwangtonggwan matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Gwangtonggwan?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Gwangtonggwan.