Seoul Railway Station was planned and built as part of a colonial strategy. During 1945-1989, after the liberation, existing function of Seoul Railway Station and its transformation guided the change of surrounding area of the station as well as the central Seoul area. Due to physical and social separation of the country in 1945, Seoul Railway Station’s role of continental transfer of goods between China-Korea-Japan had been cut to serve only as an end terminal within the southern Korean Peninsula. In this historical background, the purpose of this study was to analyze the correlation between the spatial transformation of Seoul Railway Station and Urban Growth of Seoul.
The results of this study were as follows; 1. Seoul Railway Station was interurban train station between China-Korea-Japan. In these age, its role was both concentration and spread of distribution & passenger transportation. However after the division, concentration of goods, services, passengers and city infrastructures kept increasing in Seoul, the capitol of the south, along with the rise of consumer economy. 2. Without demolishing and physical changing Old Seoul Railway Station for 60 years since 1923, the various additions were made. These are expansion and separation of the Seoul Railway Station's function & role from inside Railway yard to another place of Seoul. 3. Seoul Railway Station developed closely connected with the Urban Sprawl of Seoul, the concentration of Capital Function and development of its neighboring areas. Specially on account of its single side arrangement and geographic characteristics of railroad, Seoul Railway Station was center for Urban Function, at the same time it was a limitation of Urban Growth.