석고전(石鼓殿)의 마지막 이건과 소멸

The Last Relocation and Extinction of Seokgojeon

The set of three stone drums remaining at the front garden of Westin Chosun Hotel was one of the monuments planned in the early of 1900s to commemorate King Kojong's 40th anniversary on the throne. While the drum work fell behind due to budgetary constraints, a ceremonial structure called Seokgojeon(石鼓殿) was built in 1903 for the purpose of housing the upcoming drums which were completed in 1909. In 1935, those stone drums and Seokgojeon were forced to be apart from each other by Japanese colonial government : while the drums were moved to Hwangudan(圜丘壇) area adjacently, Seokgojeon was dismantled and relocated in Japanese temple honoring the first residency-general, Ito Hirobumi(伊藤博文) on the north-east part of Namsan. This building has been known to stay intact after the Korean War and be demolished due to the construction of Yeongbingwan(迎賓館) in the early 1960s, which belongs to The Shilla Hotel presently. We examined well-known records quoted in the preceding researches and discovered several documents and photographs from National Archives of Korea to find out that Seokgojeon was relocated once again to Changkyeongwon(昌慶苑) in 1965-1966, and survived until 1983. Through this research, the architectural value of original Seokgojeon and the significance of its structural modification with reinforced concrete during the latest relocation are revealed.