Late Middle Ages · East Asia · Politics
1394
Seoul becomes the new capital of Joseon Korea
1394
Yi Seonggye, now King Taejo, moved his seat from Gaeseong to the small town of Hanyang, ringed by mountains on the Han River. The site was chosen by geomantic advisors who deemed the landscape auspicious for dynastic longevity. Renamed Seoul, it would remain Korea's capital through five centuries of dynastic rule into the modern republic.