Jangchungdan Park장충단공원

About

Jangchungdan Park is a park of national significance, imbued with the patriotic loyalty associated with Korea's resistance against Japanese rule. Set at the northeastern foot of Namsan Mountain, the park occupies the former site of Namsoyeong, the garrison that guarded the southern part of the capital during the reign of King Yeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty. On August 20, 1895, Empress Myeongseong was assassinated by Japanese assassins at Gyeongbokgung Palace. Many soldiers, including Minister of the Royal Household Yi Gyeong-jik and Palace Guard Commander Hong Gye-hun, died fighting off the Japanese. To console their spirits, Emperor Gojong built a shrine called Jangchungdan in November 1900, and memorial rites were held every spring and autumn until 1908. Jangchungdan originally stood where the guesthouse of the Shilla Hotel is today. The shrine was destroyed during the Korean War, however, and only the monument that had stood at Jangchungdan survived; it was moved to its current location in 1969. In 1919, in an attempt to erase the Korean national spirit, the Japanese colonial government built a temple called Bakmunsa and turned the Jangchungdan site into a park, but all of this was torn down after Korea's liberation. Designated a neighborhood park on September 22, 1984, Jangchungdan Park was later absorbed into Namsan Park, a nature park. The remaining area is still called by its old name, Jangchungdan Park. Around the park you will find cultural heritage sites such as the Jangchungdan Monument, Supyogyo Bridge, Seungjeongjeon Hall, Gwanseongmyo Shrine, and Waryongmyo Shrine, as well as the March 1st Movement Monument, the Monument to the Paris Petition of the Korean Confucian Independence Movement, a poetry monument to Manhae Han Yong-un, and statues of Yu Gwan-sun, Yi Jun, and Kim Yong-hwan.