Joseon metal type, up close in the heart of Seoul [Walkspot]

Have you ever seen actual metal type in person?

In Korean history class, what we mostly encountered

were printed works made with metal type — things like the Jikji.

So where can you actually see the type itself, the individual characters used to print?

Surprisingly, you can find them right in the middle of Insadong in Seoul,

at the Insa Urban Relics Exhibition Hall.

During a redevelopment project in Insadong,

a large cache of early Joseon metal type was unearthed —

including Gabinja, Eulhaeja and Eulyuja typefaces.

Particularly notable was the first-ever confirmed physical example of Gabinja,

the representative typeface commissioned during the reign of King Sejong.

Also discovered for the first time as physical artifacts were

the Ilseongjeongsii — an astronomical clock that measured time by the sun during the day and stars at night —

and the Jujeon, an internal component that drove the Jagyeongnu water clock.

Alongside these came pre-Imjin War firearms including the Seungja Chongtong and So Seungja Chongtong,

the foundations of a 16th-century house, a communal well and drainage channels.

But how can these precious relics be seen

right in the middle of an Insadong that has undergone redevelopment?

The answer was what became known as the "Gongpyeong Rule."

Under this approach, the relics were preserved in place and opened to the public,

while developers received a floor-area ratio bonus allowing them to build higher.

A choice that neither erased old Hanyang for the sake of development,

nor froze present-day Seoul for the sake of preservation.

Thanks to that decision, we can now stand

in the middle of Insadong and encounter actual metal type

alongside traces of a Joseon-era city.

A space where past and present coexist —

go see it for yourself at the Insa Urban Relics Exhibition Hall.

to be continued...