Dongdaemun Stadium
The Dongdaemun Stadium, was a sports complex in Seoul, South Korea and included a multi-purpose stadium, a baseball park and other sports facilities. It was located near the Dongdaemun or Great East Gate and the surrounding Dongdaemun market and had many vendors selling athletics-related goods. It was demolished in 2008 to make way for the Dongdaemun Design Plaza & Park.
History
Construction on the main athletics stadium and baseball field began on May 24, 1925 and was opened for use in October 15, 1925 as the Kyungsung Stadium. (Kyungsung means Seoul) The venue was the main center for sports events in the city, and, along with the Kirim Stadium in Pyongyang, was one of the two venues used in the Kyungsung-Pyongyang inter-city soccer tournament in the 1930s.
The stadium was the location for mass celebrations of the end of Japanese colonial rule, as almost 250,000 citizens gathered at the venue on August 15, 1945, to celebrate the liberation.
Additional construction was undertaken in 1962 to modernize the two existing venues as well as create a swimming pool, volleyball courts and soft clay tennis courts. Floodlights were added to the baseball venue in 1966 and the athletics venue in 1968 to allow for nighttime sporting events.