旧ソウル駅

The former Seoul Station building is one of the few remaining colonial buildings left in the Korean capital.

The brick structure is actually closed now, having been replaced in 2004 with the completion of the new Seoul Station. The adjacent glass structure houses the tracks for the new KTX bullet train and has the feel of an airport.

The former Seoul Station was designed by Tokyo Imperial University professor Tsukamoto Yasushi. Tsukamoto was a student of Tatsuno Kingo, the designer of Tokyo Station.

And, in contrast to the new efficient station building, it is comfortable and good looking.

The elegant building was completed in 1925 while Korea was under Japanese occupation. Based on it design and feel, it bears a close resemblance to Tokyo Station.

It is a three-story structure, which had a restaurant on the second floor and a waiting room on the third.

The building is scheduled to be renovated beginning in April, 2009. In June of the following year, the "Seoul Station Cultural Center" is scheduled to open its doors.

The former Seoul Station was designated in August of 1981 as a cultural property--and as such will not meet the fate of many other Japanese colonial era buildings: the wrecking ball.

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