Jangchungdan Park () is a park located in

Jung District, Seoul Jung District () is one of the 25 List of districts of Seoul, districts of Seoul, South Korea. It has a population of 131,452 (2013) and has a geographic area , making it both the least-populous and the smallest district of Seoul, and is divided ...

, South Korea. It is to the northeast of the mountain

Namsan Namsan () is a peak in Jung District, Seoul, South Korea. It was also known as Mongmyeoksan () in the past. It offers some hiking, picnic areas and views of downtown Seoul's skyline. The N Seoul Tower is located at the summit of Namsan. The ...

. It contains the historic , which was built by

Emperor Gojong Gojong (; 8 September 1852 – 21 January 1919), personal name Yi Myeongbok (), later Yi Hui (), also known as the Gwangmu Emperor (), was the penultimate List of monarchs of Korea, Korean monarch. He ruled Korea for 43 years, from 1864 to 19 ...

in 1900 to memorialize Empress Myeongseong. The park has a children's baseball field, a tennis court, and a swimming pool. It is popular for walks and for exercise. It has a pine tree forest, with walking trails through it.

History

After the 1895

assassination of Empress Myeongseong Around 6a.m. on 8 October 1895, Empress Myeongseong, Queen Min, the consort of the Korean monarch Gojong of Korea, Gojong, was assassinated by a group of Japanese agents under Miura Gorō. After her death, she was posthumously given the title of " ...

, her husband

built the Jangchungdan Shrine as a memorial to her in November 1900 in this area. Around the time, the area was known just as "Jangchungdan".

Japanese colonial period

It became a park in 1919, during the Japanese colonial period. After the 1932

January 28 incident The January 28 incident or Shanghai incident (January 28 – March 3, 1932) was a conflict between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. It took place in the Shanghai International Settlement which was under international control. Japa ...

(a conflict between Japan and China), a statue was erected dedicated to Japanese soldiers who died during it. The statue was quickly torn down just after Korea was liberated in 1945.

Post-liberation

The shrine was destroyed during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, although it was eventually rebuilt. In 1959, the historic bridge , which had stood over the stream Cheonggyecheon since 1420, was dismantled and moved to this park. A device used to measure the water level () was also moved to the park. Both have since been designated Tangible Cultural Heritages of Seoul (No. 18 and 838 respectively). In 1964, a bronze statue of

Yi Tjoune Yi Chun (; December 18, 1859 – July 14, 1907), name sometimes rendered Yi Tjoune, was a Korean prosecutor and diplomat and the father of the North Korean politician Lee Yong. Early life Yi Chun was born in 1859 in Pukchong County, South Ha ...

was erected in the park, and a statue of Yujeong in 1968. The rebuilt monument was designated a Tangible Cultural Heritage of Seoul in 1969. On September 22, 1984, the park, which had an area of since 1940, had a portion of it merged into Namsan Park. Its new area was . There are now a number of other monuments in the park that commemorate the

March First Movement The March First Movement was a series of protests against Korea under Japanese rule, Japanese colonial rule that was held throughout Korea and internationally by the Korean diaspora beginning on March 1, 1919. Protests were largely concentrated in ...

, the

Korean independence movement The Korean independence movement was a series of diplomatic and militant efforts to liberate Korea from Japanese rule. The movement began around the late 19th or early 20th century, and ended with the surrender of Japan in 1945. As independence a ...

, independence activist Yu Gwan-sun and Buddhist reformer

Han Yong-un Han Yong-un (; August 29, 1879 – June 29, 1944) was a twentieth century Korean Buddhist reformer and poet. This name was his religious name, given by his meditation instructor in 1905, and Manhae (만해) was his art name; his birth name was ...

. Between February and April 2022, the Seoul Museum of History ran an exhibition about the history of the park.

Gallery

References

{{coord, 37, 33, 28, N, 127, 00, 16, E, type:landmark_region:KR, display=title Jung District, Seoul Downtown Seoul Parks in Seoul 1919 establishments

History

Japanese colonial period

Post-liberation

Gallery

See also

References