• Journal of architectural history
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.19-30
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• 2019

The former administration office building of Kyeong-seong-bu(京城府) was a building converted from the Japanese residency-general's of Kyeong-seong(京城理事廳) which was originally built as the Japanese consulate in Joseon(日本領事館). It was too worn and too small as a Kyeong-seong-bu administration office even with several annexes. Kyeong-seong-bu tried to build a new big administration office building at the vacant north side of the same site, which was closely faced to the rotary in front of the Bank of Joseon(朝鮮銀行前廣場). But this trial was ended in vain due to insufficient budget. Therefore Kyeong-seong-bu built a new administration office building in another site and moved to it in 1926 with debts. For paying for the debts Kyeong-seong-bu sold the former site after partitioning with new roads through it. As a result the nature of the former site and its surroundings was changed. This study traces the changes and inquires how the authorities in the colonial Joseon and various commercial powers of Kyeong-seong-bu behaved for their own interests in the meantime. It makes use of the historical records and documentary literatures between early 1910s and early 1930s.