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Whashin Department Store: Jongno’s Old Landmark

In front of Gongpyeong Historic Site Museum stands Jongno Tower. Its location is famous as a place of silk suppliers with royal warrant of appointment during the Joseon dynasty. In modern times, Whashin Department Store took root in that tradition and served as a landmark of Jongno for over half a century.

Whashin Department Store was what Jongno Tower is today for the young generation. A long history of heritage passed down from royal patronage to luxury goods and now a skyscraper. This lineage symbolizes the commercial epicenter of Hanyang, Gyeongseong, and Seoul.

This exhibition explores the history and reminisced memories of Whashin Department Store.


Part 1: The Era of Department Stores

One journalist wrote during Japanese colonial rule,

“1930 is marks the era of department stores in Gyeongseong.”

Gyeongseong with a population of 300,000 [as of the 1930s] had as many as five department stores. They included Hirata, Minakai, Georgia, Mitsukoshi, and Whashin.

The era of department stores began as clothing stores turned into large department stores. Japanese department stores in Namchon [today’s Chungmuro and Myeong-dong] expanded and turned into giants. In Bukchon, there were Donga Department Store, which was established by Choi Nam, and Whashin Department Store, which originated from an association of stores. Soon, Whashin Department Store acquired Donga Department Store and earned its title as a 100% Korean department store. Whashin, which sit on Jong-ro, the main street of commercial activity, was truly a Korean landmark.


Part 2: The Rebirth of Whashin in 1937

A six-storied cream-colored building with 1 basement floor stood at the intersection of Jong-ro. Whashin Department Store expanded in scale with a bigger and fancier new building after the western building was lost to a fire in 1935. Neon signs flickered constantly for the building, and anyone could see it from anywhere in Gyeongseong. Its 19 m-long electronic signage caught the eyes of every bypasser. Then, after a half of the eastern building was also lost to a fire, Whashin Department Store expanded the building to 5 stories, standing proudly with the new building.

The newly born Whashin was meaningful beyond simply being a large building. As in other department stores, Whashin was packed with the latest cultural trends of that time. Whashin was always crowded, and the department store also tried to attract customers through various methods. With its title as a 100% Korean department store, it began to fiercely compete with other department stores.

 
Part 3: The Last Days of Whashin

Gyeongseong was in the middle of war when national liberation was approaching. Department stores focused on selling essentials, holding war propaganda fairs, and adapting to a wartime. Whashin also established a military airplane manufacturer.

Whashin was enjoying its golden age. The building was lost to a fire yet again with only its structure left during the Korean War, perhaps implying its inevitable decline. In 1955, Shin Shin Department Store [currently the Standard Chartered in Jonggak] was built to reinvigorate the department store industry along with Whashin, but such efforts lost momentum due to the emergence of other department stores equipped with the latest facilities. In the end, Shinsaeng, which rented some parts of the department store, acquired the entire building in 1967, changing its owner. In 1980, the parent company Whashin Industrial went bankrupt. Even though Whashin was no longer the owner of the department store, it was still recognized by people as Whashin Department Store.

 

In Memory of Jongno’s Old Landmark


Demolition of Whashin Department Store began in March 14, 1987. It had been 50 years since its opening in 1937. Whashin, which was a symbol of Jongno over half a century, went down in history due to the Jongno Expansion Plan. Jongno Tower was built in its place, leaving no trace that there used to be a department store at the center of Jongno. But people still remember Whashin.

The old days of waiting for friends under the clock of Whashin Department Store. The old days of window shopping in front of Whashin Department Store. The old days of getting off at the Whashin bus stop and strolling along Jong-ro. All of our memories come together to constitute an image of Whashin, which we cannot see any longer. Whashin is still remains a landmark of Jongno for many.
 
“Whashin Department Store, which was designed by Park Gil-ryong, one of the top Joseon architects during Japanese colonial rule, is not just a building. The department store located across Jonggak in Jong-ro 2-jeongmok, which was dubbed ‘Joseon people’s street,’ was the only 100% Korean department store, which competed with Japanese department stores such as Georgia and Mitsukoshi. Until its demolition after the country’s liberation, it was a place remembered by many as a memory of ‘Seoul life’ … Today, an exotic skyscraper designed by an American and owned by a financial giant stands there. Future generation historians will read something that symbolizes Seoul as a transnational city in the 21th century. What will it be named?”

B. Yeom, A Landmark of the Nation and the Desire - Park Heung Sik and Whashin Department Store, Korean Journal of Urban Studies 6, 2011.

(Source=Seoul Museum of History)