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.