京城

Noun

 * 1)  capital city

Usage notes
When translating the English term capital city, use when referring to the capital of a country,  when referring to the capital of a state or autonomous region, and  when referring to the capital of a province. Alternative terms for the capital of a country include, , , and  all of which are more commonly used in literary language. The term is most commonly used in historical dramas set in Imperial China.

Descendants
Others:

Proper noun

 * 1)   Seoul, Gyeongseong or Keijō

Etymology 1
From. First cited to a text from 706. In turn, from.

Possibly encountered in older texts with the reading, using the older goon pronunciation for both characters.

Use to refer to Seoul was based in part on the older name, and in part on the Japanese sense of "imperial capital", in referring to the city as the center of administration under the Japanese Empire. The city was also informally called in Korean during the  dynasty (1392–1897). See also

Noun

 * 1)  the emperor's residence, the imperial palace
 * 2)  the capital, especially within an empire

Proper noun

 * 1)    Seoul, also known as Gyeongseong (the Korean reading of these same Chinese characters) and Keijō

Etymology 2
The older goon pronunciation. Not used in modern Japanese, but possibly still encountered in older texts.

Noun

 * 1)   the emperor's residence, the imperial palace
 * 2)   the capital, especially within an empire