CChronica Maps

Seoul: History, Former Names & Timeline

Royal capital of the Joseon dynasty for five centuries on the Han River, and today capital of the Republic of Korea.

Map showing Seoul in 1900Seoul
Border map for 1900. See the world in 1900.

Explore Seoul in the interactive map

Former names of Seoul

FromNameNote
1394Hanyang / Hanseong
1910Keijō
1946Seoul

Timeline of Seoul

YearEvent
1394Yi Seong-gye moves the capital to Hanyang
1446King Sejong promulgates the Korean alphabet, Hangul
1592The Imjin War: Hanseong falls to Japan
1910Japan annexes Korea
1950The Korean War: Seoul changes hands four times
1988Seoul hosts the Summer Olympics

Who ruled Seoul

Derived from the border maps; each row runs until the next recorded border change.

PeriodState
500 BC–401 BCUnclaimed / no data
400 BC–324 BCGojoseon
323 BC–201 BCUnclaimed / no data
200 BC–101 BCTungus
100 BC–2 BCUnclaimed / no data
1 BC–499Koguryo
500–799Silla
800–899Silia
900–999Silla
1000–1199Korea
1200–1299Goryeo
1300–1491Great Khanate
1492–1913Korea
1914–1944Empire of Japan
1945–1959Korea (USA)
1960–todayKorea, Republic of

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