Case file · Sacred site
Hwangudan, the Altar of Heaven
King Gojong offered sacrifice to heaven here in 1897 when he proclaimed the Korean Empire, a rite reserved for emperors.
1897 CE · 37.56, 126.98 · status: official
The account
The Japanese tore down the altar in 1913 to build a hotel; only the three-storey shrine for the spirit tablets survives, beside the Westin Chosun in central Seoul.