Site of 1st electricity generation found
The site of Korea’s first power plant, which supplied electricity for the Joseon Kingdom’s (1392-1910) main royal court at Gyeongbokgung Palace, was unearthed after 128 years, the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH) said Wednesday. / Yonhap
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The site of Korea's first power plant, which supplied electricity for the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910)'s main royal court Gyeongbokgung Palace, was unearthed after 128 years.
According to the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH) Wednesday, the site of Korea's first power plant "Jeongideungso" was discovered during their excavation survey of Yeonghundang Hall, Gyeongbokgung Palace in central Seoul.
Built in 1887, Jeongideungso is known for generating electricity for the first time in this country.
It is located south of Hyangwonji lake and north of Yeonghundang.
The plant was said to be situated north of Hyangwonji lake, but the investigation has revealed its original location for the first time.
The NRICH found the site of a coal cellar, which stored fuel for electric generation, and relics such as a carbon point for arc lamps and glass insulators dating back to the 1870s.
"This is going to be a turning point for Korea's electricity generation history as the exact location and the use of the arc lights were discovered," an NRICH official said.
The Joseon palace made a contract with Edison Electronics in 1884 to build the nation's first electric power plant after 11 envoys to the United States recommended the new technology.
The Jeongideungso had a capacity of 16 candlepower, which is equivalent to 750 incandescent lights.
The first electric lamp in Korea was lighted between January and March 1887, according to the NRICH.
The electric lights brightened the grounds of the royal palace including Geoncheonggung (private royal residence) and Hyangwonjeong (a pavilion built on an artificial island in Hyangwonji lake). The lights were called "mulbul," which literally means water light in Korean, as the plant used water to generate electricity.
The site was discovered during the second excavation survey of the Yeonghundang Hall site for restoration. Yeonghundang is an annex of Heungbokjeon, where the king resided, hosted cabinet meetings and greeted diplomats. Both Yeonghundang and Heungbokjeon were demolished around 1917 under the Japanese colonial rule when some structures of Gyeongbokgung Palace were torn down to reconstruct the burnt-down Changdeokgung Palace.