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Located at Samcheong Tunnel, Sukjoengmun was also called Bukmun (North gate) as one of four main gates of old Seoul together with Namdaemun, Dongdaemun and Seodaemun. Bearing due north, this gate was originally called Sukcheongmun but was renamed as Sukjeongmun with reason unknown and True Records of the Joseon Dynasty names it as Sukjeongmun since King Jungjong. It was the gateway to Yangju and Goyang together with Changuimun, one of four mini gates of old Seoul, and was built in the 5th year of King Taejo (1396) when other gates were constructed in the castle of Seoul. |
| The gate moved to current place, a little east side from the original location in the 10th year of Yeonsangun (1504) with construction of arched stone gate but the gate tower does not seem to have been built at that time. When the Seoul Metropolitan Government sought to restore the gate in 1975, there was a controversy about existence of the gate tower at original Sukjeongmun but the city finally restored the gate tower based on the historical records that the gate tower was already used in the period of King Taejo, and had the board-hanging of Sukjeongmun. The records of the early Joseon Dynasty reveal that the gate opened or closed according to the theories of configuration of the ground or Yin and Yang. As an example, in June, the 13th year of King Taejong (1413), renowned geomantic scholar Choi Yangseon made a complaint that passing through Changuimun and Sukjeongmun, placed as if two arms of Gyeongbokgung Palace, might block its energy and then the gate was closed and pine trees were planted on nearby streets to prohibit the passage of people. |
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