Seoul 2019: Bosingak Belfry (보신각)

Not too far from Jogyesa Temple I came across the Bosingak Belfry, which is a large bell pavilion. It was originally built in 1396 during Korea’s Joseon Dynasty but the structure housing the bell has been destroyed and rebuilt many times over the centuries. The large bell inside the Bosingak Belfry was struck each day to signal the opening and closing of the city gates. At 4am it would ring 33 times (imagine having that for your daily wake-up) and at 10pm it would ring 28 times. I’m not sure how anyone who lived in Seoul back then got any decent amount of sleep with that bell ringing every day at 4am and 10pm. These days the large bell inside Bosingak Belfry is only rung at midnight on New Year’s Eve.