Can you see Samil Building over there? If you haven’t seen this building for a while, you might think that it’s changed a bit. The once all-black building now has a blue hue with added splendor. That’s because it’s been recently renovated.

Samil Building is a future heritage of Seoul. It’s a high-rise building, but its historical meaning is significant. Kim Chung-up was the architect who designed Samil Building, and he is also the one that designed the main building of Sogang University, Konkuk University Language Institute which was originally a library, French Embassy in Korea, and World Peace Gate that was built to celebrate the hosting of the Olympics. At the time, he designed Samil Building with a steel and glass facade, considering that Sammi Group, a steel-producing company that was going to use the building as its office building.

Samil Building's construction began in 1969 and was completed in 1970. At that time, it was the most dominating high-rise building in Seoul. It was also a symbol of Seoul's development.

The name Samil Building is also special. It’s related to this building being a 31-story one. But the reason why it has 31 floors is because it honors March First Independence Movement that took place in 1919. That is why the road where the building stands is also named Samil-daero. This means that this modern building is named after a monumental event in modern Korean history. Until much taller buildings such as Lotte Hotel and the Yook Sam Square came to be, this was the building that represented Korea at that time. It appears that people recalled the history of 1919 when saying its name.

Let’s go to the next stop. We're on Jongno Modern Train Course 10 the Trail of History, and our next stop is Gwangtonggyo Bridge. It’s a larger-sized old Joseon Dynasty stone bridge. I will continue our talk in front of that bridge.