Tapgol Park

Yesterday, I also went to Tapgol Park (a busy day) which is the origin of the March 1st Movement and was where the first reading of the Declaration of Independence took place in 1919 (Korea was occupied by Japan until the end of the Second World War). There are various statues dedicated to those who opposed Japanese rule and a monument to the Declaration of Independence. The park is also home to National Treasure no. 2, a 15th century Buddhist pagoda. (National Treasure No. 1 is Namdaenum Gate, one of the gates which was part of the original wall which surrounded Seoul during the Joseon dynasty.) Unfortunately, the appearance of the pagoda is marred by a rather unsympathetic glass structure built to protect it.

The 1919 Declaration of Independence

Korean men ('adjoshis') sat underneath the Declaration of Independence Monument

Pagoda commemorating the site of the first reading of the Declaration of Independence

National Treasure No. 2

Pagoda protecting 15th C Joseon era monument