SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- The city of Seoul has grown up over the remains of history. All that remains in most cases are place names that evoke memories of a dramatic and romantic past. Subway and other commuter train stations especially often have poetic names that belie the drab, boisterous or unseemly surroundings that now embrace them.

Let's buy a ticket and journey along the Han River from Yongsan by way of the commuter train, and ramble on up to its last station, Seongbuk, at the northern reach of Seoul.

With imagination, aided by the background of the names, one can reconstruct something of the buried past out of the modern changes we can see through the windows.

This is a photo of Yongsan, "dragon mountain," today. A subway station lies at the center of Yongsan from where, according to a legend, two dragons emerged some 1,500 years ago.

For example, Yongsan Station. Yongsan means "dragon mountain." You can hardly tell that a large hill is in the vicinity due to all the construction, but where the U.S. Army now has its main base in Korea is a slope of the hill where, according to legend, two dragons emerged during the time when this area belonged to the Baekje Kingdom (18 B.C.-660 A.D.).

When all of Seoul, save for the palaces, was limited to one-story traditional houses, and this place was south of the gates, the large hill looked like a dragon flying when seen from a distance.

Swing on a curve of a railway track, and there is Ichon Station. Ichon means "two villages." Now it's just a mass of apartment buildings, blocking the view to the river, but in the past, this was an area of small fishing villages. In 1914, two such villages combined, hence the name. "I" also means "moving." People fled here from an island in the Han River to escape floods.

Rolling on, there is Seobinggo, which means "west ice storehouse." During the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) days, an ice house was located here, storing ice cut from the river in winter for the use of officials from March to October. Portions of the ice also went to the king.

Today, one only sees a new park on the north side of the station, and a wall of apartments on the other.

Coming up is Hannam, which means "Han River south." One can see the river from the train here, on the south side, under the expressway, though not from the busy street level.

Next appears colorful Oksu, or "jade water." It is said that the taste of fresh, cool jade well water was sweet enough to be given to the king.

The famous jade well was destroyed in 1960 by road construction, and the area is now crowded with apartments and cars.

Along the riverside comes Eungbong, which means "answer peak." A fire signal tower was set on top of this little mountain, overlooking the river, for relaying messages to and from the king's palace by way of a network of signal stations located on hilltops across the country.

People are always in a hurry at subway stations and hardly take notice of station names, most of which have historical meanings.

It is said that King Taejo (1392-1398) set up a post here for catching falcons, which were plentiful along the river.

Already, the train has pulled away from the river, along a stream, and soon on both sides of the tracks is a motley assortment of houses and other buildings.

Coming up is Wangsimni, a name that means "go 10 ri" (4 kilometers). In 1392, Yi Song Gye overthrew the king of the Goryeo Kingdom and founded the new Jeoson Kingdom.

He asked a scholarly monk, Mu Hak Desa, to go forth from the other capital of Song Ak, now Kaesong in North Korea, and find an auspicious site following the rules of geomancy for a new capital.

The monk journeyed south and was about to choose this location when an old peasant, a disguised saint, appeared and scolded him, "You have come too far. Go northwest for 10 ri!" The monk did so and found a suitable site for the palace, which is present-day Gyeongbok palace, where there is also a subway station now.

Cheongnyangni station is on the north of the old wall of Seoul. Cheongnyangni means "clear cool village." It's hard to imagine that name now in this busy commercial region, but this was once a refreshing place for a summer picnic.

Come through a tunnel to Hoegi ("returned site") station. This was near the site of Lady Yun, who because of her hot temper was deprived of her title as queen to King Song Yong and sentenced to die by poisoning in 1498.

Her son Yeonsangun frequently returned to visit her tomb, and spent much of his reign avenging her death. Her tomb has now been removed to the countryside.

Then there is the crowded suburbs at Oedaeap, which refers to the front of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. However, the former name of the station was Hwigyeong, which means "beautiful celebration." It is named after beautiful "Celebration Garden," the site of the tomb of Pak Sun Bin, a concubine of one king and mother of another.

That tomb also has been removed to a more bucolic region.

This brings one to Sinimun, "new village gate." Bands of thieves prowled outside the capital walls during the Joseon Kingdom times, so the authorities built a gate here, with a police checkpoint, for this village.

No such gate can be found now.

The train carries us by apartments, and even a coal yard, to Seokgye station. Its name means "rock stream," and it is located between what used to be two villages, one called Seokguan ("rock and a rice cake on a bamboo stick") and the other Wolgye ("moon stream").

Finally, riding over more open ground, with forested hills to the left and a stream and apartments to the right, we reach the last station, Seongbuk Terminal. Seongbuk means "castle north," but one finds no trace of a castle around here these days.

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