Dongnimmun () or Independence Gate is a memorial gate at

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

, built by

Soh Jaipil Soh Jaipil or Seo Jae-pil (January 7, 1864 – January 5, 1951), also known as Philip Jaisohn, was a Korean- American political activist and physician who was a noted champion of the Korean independence movement, the first Korean naturalized c ...

in late 19th century, as a symbol of

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...

's commitment to independence around the world. It is designated as

Historic Sites of South Korea Historic Sites of South Korea ( ko, 대한민국의 사적) are South Korean cultural heritages at state-level, designated by the Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea, for places and facilities of great historic and academic values that are ...

in 1963, and relocated to 70m northwest from original location in 1979 for preservation.

History

Background

In 1895, the Government of

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and ...

abandoned its long continued diplomatic policy of ''

Sadae ''Sadae'' (''lit.'' "serving-the-Great," Hangul: 사대 Hanja: ) is a Korean term which is used in pre-modern contexts.Armstrong, Charles K. (2007). ''Sadae'' is a Confucian concept, based on filial piety, that describes a reciprocal hierarchica ...

'' (flunkeyism). Under this policy, Joseon was respecting political influence of China. To celebrate it, the Government of Joseon demolished

Yeongeunmun The Yeongeunmun () or Yeongeunmun Gate is a historical structure once located in the Joseon Dynasty. Since it was a symbol of China's diplomatic influence on the Joseon, the Gaehwa Party of the Joseon government intentionally demolished it in F ...

in February 1895, which was a traditional symbol of flunkeyism built in 16th century as a symbolic gate only for welcoming Chinese diplomats to Joseon. In March 1895, this movement of the Joseon Government got recognized by the

Treaty of Shimonoseki The , also known as the Treaty of Maguan () in China and in the period before and during World War II in Japan, was a treaty signed at the , Shimonoseki, Japan on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing China, ending the First ...

following the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the p ...

. Yet it was also important to promote the Joseon's public to discard spirit of excessive reliance on China. To achieve this, Korean-American freedom fighter

planned building a new gate near site of

's ruins to symbolize diplomatic independence of Joseon around the world. His plan was agreed by King Gojong of Korea, and he named it ''Independence Arch'' ().

Plan for construction

To support construction of the Dongnimmun, he constituted a association named as '

Independence Club The Independence Association (독립협회, 獨立協會) was founded through the initiative of Philip Jaisohn (Seo Jae-pil) on July 2, 1896. At its founding it was recognized by the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Despite some remarkable ac ...

' (), and published Korea's first modern newspaper named ''

Tongnip Sinmun ''The Independent'' or ''Tongnip Sinmun'' (독립신문; 1896–1899) was an early Korean newspaper. ''Tongnip Sinmun'' was the first privately managed modern daily newspaper in Korea. It was founded in July 1896 by a member of the enlightened Ko ...

'' (). Through broad public campaign by ''Tongnip Sinmun'', construction of Dongnimmun could be propelled by funds of various citizens in

. In English edition of ''

'', called as ''The independent'',

wrote reason for building Dongnimmun as following;

Construction and relocation

Soh Jaipil planned model design of Dongnimmun as

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. Its specific design was delivered by unknown Swiss architect working for the German legation in

. Its construction began in 1896, and finished in January 1898. The construction process was overseen by Korean engineer named ''. Dongnimmun measures 14.28 meters in height and 11.48 meters in width, and is made of approximately 1,850 pieces of granite. The

Government of South Korea The Government of South Korea is the union government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and is t ...

designated it as

in 1963. At the time of construction, it was built on north of

's ruins. Yet later it was relocated to 70m northwest from its original place with Plinths of Yeongeunmun Gate, Seoul, due to construction of modern city road. It is now located in Seodaemun Independence Park, where Dongnimmun is located, is easily accessed from Exit 4 or 5 of Dongnimmun Station on

Seoul Subway Line 3 Seoul Metropolitan Subway Line 3 (dubbed ''The Orange Line'') of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is a rapid transit service that connects Eunpyeong District to Gangnam and southeastern Seoul. Most trains head further northwest to serve Goyang vi ...

Gallery

File:The independent 4th July 1896.jpg, An editorial in ''

'' promoting fund raising for construction of Dongnimmun, July 4, 1896 File:독립문_기공식_초청장.png, An image of the invitation to the groundbreaking ceremony for the Independence Gate in November 21, 1896 File:Hamilton - En Corée - p052.png, Scene of Dongnimmun looking down the Plinths of Yeongeunmun Gate, Seoul before relocation File:Independence Gate Seoul Korea 1955.jpg, View of Dongnimmun from northern side in 1955 before relocation File:Dokripmun.jpg, Dongnimmun and Plinths of Yeongeunmun Gate, Seoul after relocation File:Hangul Script on the Dongnimmun Gate.jpg, Letters of '독립문' and

Taegukgi The national flag of South Korea, also known as the Taegukgi (also spelled as ''Taegeukgi'', ) and colloquially known as the flag of Korea, has three parts: a white rectangular background, a red and blue Taegeuk in its center, accompanied by f ...

is carved on arch via

Vertical writing Many East Asian scripts can be written horizontally or vertically. Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese Hán- Nôm and Korean scripts can be oriented along either axis, as they consist mainly of disconnected logographic or syllabic units, each oc ...

. Below sign of flower is symbol of

House of Yi The House of Yi, also called the Yi dynasty (also transcribed as the Lee dynasty), was the royal family of the Joseon dynasty and later the imperial family of the Korean Empire, descended from the Joseon founder Yi Seong-gye. All of his descenda ...

References

External links

Dongnimmun Arch, Seoul (Cultural Heritage Administration Official site in English)
{{Authority control Historic Sites of South Korea Joseon dynasty Korean Empire Soh Jaipil History of Seoul Gates in South Korea Buildings and structures in Seodaemun District Buildings and structures completed in 1898