Seoul: A 2,000-Year History (Korean: 서울 2천년사; RR: Seoul 2cheonnyeonsa) is a 40-volume book series on the history of Seoul, South Korea. It was published serially by the Seoul Historiography Institute from 2013 to 2016.
Background
The series succeeded an earlier ten-volume work titled Seoul: A 600-Year History (서울 육백년사), which was published beginning in 1977 over a period of 20 years. According to an official from the Seoul Historiography Institute, one motivation for revising the series was to correct the misconception that Seoul's history was limited to the Joseon period (1392–1897), when in fact the area had been inhabited long before then. The new series also aimed to incorporate recent research.
Production
The series involved the work of 304 experts across various fields and contains over 4,000 photographs.
Organization by Era
The 40 volumes are organized chronologically as follows:
| Volumes | Era |
|---|---|
| Volume 1 | General introduction |
| Volumes 2–7 | Prehistoric and ancient history |
| Volumes 8–10 | Goryeo period (918–1392) |
| Volumes 11–20 | Joseon period (1392–1897) |
| Volumes 21–25 | Opening of Korea (from 1876) |
| Volumes 26–30 | Colonial period (1910–1945) |
| Volumes 30–40 | Modern period |
The series is further subdivided into approximately 300 subject areas.
Availability and Exhibition
The series is available for free in public libraries of Seoul and online in ebook format. Each volume was also sold individually. Upon completion of the series, a special exhibition was held for three weeks from January 17, 2017, at the Seoul Metropolitan Library.
