JEONGDONG HAS LONG BEEN A PLACE WHERE
TRADITION WAS REIMAGINED. IT WAS HERE THAT
PANSORI FOUND ITS WAY ONTO THE MODERN
STAGE AND EVOLVED INTO CHANGGEUK, KOREA’S
OWN FORM OF MUSICAL THEATRE. NEW
APPROACHES TO EDUCATION, JOURNALISM, AND
PUBLIC DEBATE ALSO BEGAN TO TAKE SHAPE.
WITH PALACES, FOREIGN LEGATIONS, SCHOOLS,
AND CHURCHES SHARING THE SAME STREETS,
JEONGDONG BECAME A MEETING POINT FOR
DIFFERENT CULTURES AND IDEAS. WHAT ARRIVED
FROM ABROAD WAS NOT SIMPLY ADOPTED, BUT
REINTERPRETED AND RESHAPED—GIVING RISE TO
NEW EXPRESSIONS OF KOREAN CULTURE.