Bosingak Pavilion - Seoul, South Korea
Posted by: 
elyob
N 37° 34.186 E 126° 59.018
52S E 321929 N 4159992
Plan to be here on New Year's Eve.
Waymark Code: WM174FD
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Date Posted: 12/09/2022
Views: 1
Bosingak dates back to the 1390s. Even so, the bell still rings out on New Year's Eve, every year. At midnight on New Year's Eve, this is the busiest spot in Seoul. In modern times, New Year's Eve is the only scheduled ringing of the bell.
The following text is from the sign on site. This bell pavilion was originally built in 1396 (the 5th year of the reign of King Taejo) in present-day Insa-dong, then the heart of Hanyang, the capital of the Joseon Dynasty (present-day Seoul), and was moved to its current location during the reign of King Taejong (1400-1418). The Bosingak Bell was rung thirty-three times to announce paru, the opening of the city gates at daybreak and twenty-eight times to announce injeong their closure at night, according to the prevailing Buddhist custom. It was also rung to warn the populace of emergencies such as fires, etc. The bell pavilion was originally a considerably larger structure (measuring 5 kan by 4 kan), but it was destroyed and repaired many times over the years due to wars and fires, and had become a smaller structure by the late Joseon Period. It used to be called Jonggoru, Jonggak or Ingyeongjeon, but acquired its current name Bosingak in 1895 during the reign of King Gojong. In 1979, the bell pavilion was completely restored to the large-size structure seen during the reign of King Sejong, In 1985, the Old Bronze Bell of Bosingak Pavilion (Treasure No. 2) was replaced with a replica and sent to the National Museum of Korea.
*Kan a unit of measurement refering to the distance between two columns