Seodong Park and Gungnamji Pond (서동공원과 궁남지)

Gungnamji Pond, a Historic Site located in Seodong Park, is Korea’s first artificial pond and was created by King Mu from the Baekje dynasty, who fell in love with and eventually married Princess Seonhwa. Gungnamji, literally means a pond in the south of the royal palace in Korean, was the given name according to the Samguksagi records.

According to a record in the Samguksagi, the History of the Three Kingdoms, King Mu dug this lake south of his palace in the 35th year of his reign (634) and connected it by a 7800-meter long waterway to the water source. The king then had willow trees planted around the bank and had an artificial mound constructed in the middle of the lake.