March 1st marked an important day in Korean history, so much so we had a day off school!

The day marked one of Korea’s first independence movements against the Japanese invasion and is known as the Samil Movement (literally meaning three-one).

According to Wikipedia:

The inspiration for the Samil Movement came from the repressive nature of Japanese policies under its military administration of Korea following 1905, and the “Fourteen Points” outlining the right of national “self-determination” proclaimed by President Woodrow Wilson at the Paris Peace Conference in January 1918. After hearing news of the Wilson’s speech, Korean students studying in Tokyo published a statement demanding Korean independence.

The timing of the uprising was scheduled for two days before the funeral of Emperor Gojong. From a Korean point of view this funeral brought to an end not only the Joseon Dynasty but also one of the last symbols of the Korean nation. With the death of their last reigning Emperor, many Koreans felt that the last remaining link to the time they had an independent nation was now lost, and that Korea’s fate now lay solely in the hands of the Japanese.

At 2pm on the 1 March 1919, the 33 nationalists, who formed the core of the Samil Movement, convened at Taehwagwan Restaurant in Seoul, and read the Korean Declaration of Independence that had been drawn up by historian/writer Choe Namson and poet Manhae, also known as Han Yongun. The nationalists initially planned to assemble at Tapgol Park in downtown Seoul, but they chose a more private location out of fear that the gathering might turn into a riot. The leaders of the movement signed the document and sent a copy to the Japanese Governor General, with their compliments. They then telephoned the central police station to inform them of their actions and were arrested afterwards.

Despite the nationalist’s concerns, massive crowds assembled in the Tapgol Park to hear a student, Chung Jae-yong, read the declaration publicly. Afterwards, the gathering formed into a procession, which the Japanese police attempted to suppress. According to reports issued by the Korean Yon-Hap news agency, the crowd was fired upon by the officers and “…more than 7,500 demonstrators were killed and about 16,000 wounded. Some 47,000 others were arrested by the Japanese police”.

So what better place to go and visit on March first than Tapgol or Pagoda Park – tap meaning pagoda.

Kat and I arrived to find the park full of people, mainly elderly Koreans, proudly brandishing their national flag. We stopped to listen to the speaker, not having a clue what he was saying we spotted a lone westerner and asked him what was going on. It transpired that we’d arrived just in time to hear them read the Declaration of Independence.

We listened for a bit before wondering around the park. It was much smaller than we’d expected and our hopes of chilling out and having a picnic on the grass were dashed – there wasn’t any grass!

The first thing we came to was the tablet and stone turtle, designated National treasure No 3, built in 1471 the commemorate the construction of Wongak-sa temple.

Next we came to the famous Pagoda that the park is named after. Built in 1467 the top three stories were knocked off in the 17th century during the Japanese invasion. But it took until 1947 for the Pagoda to be restored to its former glory because of a belief that great misfortune would befall the country if the top was replaced.

After it took so long for the Pagoda to be restored it is a shame that recently the Korean government has built a glass enclosure around the structure. The enclosure is designed to protect it from the elements and fumes, but whilst protecting it they have destroyed it ascetically. The glass enclosure is ugly and makes it very difficult to get a good look at the Pagoda. You can judge for yourself – a the picture is below.

* Posted by j150vsc on 05/03/2007.