The name of the station, "Wangsimni", is related to a historical account dating from 14th century Korea. After establishing and becoming the first king of the
Joseon dynasty,
Yi Seong-gye presented the great Buddhist monk
Muhak with the task of finding a site for the new capital. After searching for a suitable place, the monk stopped and saw an old farmer passing by on his ox. The farmer pointed toward the northwest and said to him, wangsimni (往十里), literally meaning 'go ten more
li (li = a unit measure that equals to one-third of a mile).' The startled Muhak went to the northwest as he was told and ended up at the southern foot of Mt. Bugak, where
Gyeongbokgung now stands. This was how Hanyang (present-day
Seoul) was born.
In September 2008, Wangsimni station was remodeled to a private invested station. This station became multiplex space with several major features down below.