Jangchung Arena started in 1955 as an open-air army gymnasium. The city took it over in 1959 and reopened it in 1963 as an indoor arena. It opened on February 1, 1963, as Korea’s first domed indoor arena. In the 1960s and ’70s it was the home of professional wrestling, where Kim Il’s famous headbutt had the whole country cheering. It is also where Kim Ki-soo became Korea’s first world boxing champion. Two presidents, Park Chung-hee and Chun Doo-hwan, were elected inside its walls. Cheap jokbal that fed the crowds became popular by word of mouth, which helped the nearby jokbal alley grow. After a renovation that began in 2012, the arena reopened in January 2015. Today its underground passage holds a permanent history exhibit, and the city has named the arena a Seoul Future Heritage site.