The Independence Hall of Korea () is a

Korean history The Lower Paleolithic era in the Korea, Korean Peninsula and Manchuria began roughly half a million years ago. Christopher J. Norton, "The Current State of Korean Paleoanthropology", (2000), ''Journal of Human Evolution'', 38: 803–825. The e ...

museum in

Cheonan Cheonan (; 천안시, ''Cheonan-si''), also spelled Ch'ŏnan, is a city in South Chungcheong, South Korea. Cheonan has a population of 666,417 (2018), making it the most-populous city or county in South Chungcheong, and the third most-populous ci ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. Opened on August 15, 1987, it has the largest exhibition facility in South Korea, with a total floor area of . The museum primarily focuses on the

Korean independence movement The Korean independence movement was a military and diplomatic campaign to achieve the independence of Korea from Japan. After the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910, Korea's domestic resistance peaked in the March 1st Movement of 1919, which ...

of the Japanese colonial period. however, the first exhibition hall, the Hall of National Heritage, is dedicated to the period ranging from

prehistoric times Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...

to the

Joseon dynasty 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 re ...

. It has seven indoor exhibition halls and a Circle Vision Theater.

Exhibits

There are seven exhibition spaces. The first exhibition includes the ''

Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty The ''Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty'' (also known as the ''Annals of the Joseon Dynasty'' or the ''True Record of the Joseon Dynasty''; ko, 조선왕조실록 and ) are the annual records of Joseon, the last royal house to rule ...

, a'' manual that shows the interpretation of Hangeul and its usage with also the introduction written by King

Sejong the Great Sejong of Joseon (15 May 1397 – 8 April 1450), personal name Yi Do (Korean: 이도; Hanja: 李祹), widely known as Sejong the Great (Korean: 세종대왕; Hanja: 世宗大王), was the fourth ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. Initial ...

, and other artifacts, and a recreation of the

turtle ship A ''Geobukseon'' ( ko, script=Hang, 거북선, ), also known as turtle ship in western descriptions, was a type of large Korean warship that was used intermittently by the Joseon Navy, Royal Korean Navy during the Joseon, Joseon dynasty from the ...

. The second exhibition covers the period from the 1860s to the 1940s. It contains a copy of the first issue of the first privately owned Korean newspaper, ''

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 ...

''. It also contains a copy of the

Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905 The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905, also known as the Eulsa Treaty, Eulsa Unwilling Treaty or Japan–Korea Protectorate Treaty, was made between the Empire of Japan and the Korean Empire in 1905. Negotiations were concluded on November 17, 19 ...

, and other artifacts from the Japanese colonial period. The third exhibit contains artifacts related to the 1919

March 1st Movement The March 1st Movement, also known as the Sam-il (3-1) Movement (Hangul: 삼일 운동; Hanja: 三一運動), was a protest movement by Korean people and students calling for independence from Japan in 1919, and protesting forced assimilation ...

, including a copy of the

Korean Declaration of Independence The Declaration of Independence is the statement adopted by the 33 ethnic representatives meeting at Taehwagwan, the restaurant located in Insa-dong, Jongno District, Seoul on March 1, 1919, after World War I, which announced that Korea would no ...

. The fourth exhibition hall focuses on the impact of the independence movement. In this hall there are four symbolic paths that the visitor can follow. The fifth exhibition hall is called “Patriotic struggle for national independence” and it covers the anti-Japanese armed resistance that occurred in areas both inside and outside the nation. It contains a Taegeukgi used during the 1920

Battle of Fengwudong A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

. The sixth exhibition named “Establishing the Great Korea” covers people's independence movement and the activities of the Korean Provisional Government which is the first democratic government and also the supreme organization of independence movement established after the March 1st Movement.

Events

The Independence Hall of Korea also hosts different events across the year, including a reenactment of the March 1st Movement on its anniversary, events for children on

Children's Day Children's Day is a commemorative date celebrated annually in honor of children, whose date of observance varies by country. In 1925, International Children's Day was first proclaimed in Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare. Sin ...

, a large event on National Liberation Day on August 15, and a Fall Cultural Zone event in October.

History

In March 2013, actress

Song Hye-kyo Song Hye-kyo (; born November 22, 1981) is a South Korean actress. She gained international popularity through her leading roles in the television dramas ''Autumn in My Heart'' (2000), '' All In'' (2003), ''Full House'' (2004), ''That Winter, th ...

donated the production cost of

braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...

brochures for the Hall. With the help of scholar Seo Kyung-duk of

Sungshin Women's University Sungshin Women's University (Korean: 성신여자대학교) is a private women's university located in Seoul, South Korea. It was founded in 1936 by Dr. Sook-Chong Lee. During the 1960s and 70s, Sungshin was a Teachers College in South Korea. Th ...

, 1,000 copies are to be made available with more in the planning, as not many museums provide braille brochures for the blind. She reportedly decided to help after playing a blind woman in 2013

Seoul Broadcasting System Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) () is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. The broadcaster legally became known as SBS in March 2000, changing its corporate name from Seoul Broadcasting System (서울방송). Its f ...

drama ''

That Winter, the Wind Blows ''That Winter, the Wind Blows'' () is a 2013 South Korean romantic melodrama television series starring Jo In-sung and Song Hye-kyo. A gambler and con man (Jo) pretends to be the long-lost brother of a blind heiress (Song), but these two damag ...

''.

References

External links

*
Independence Hall of Korea official siteIndependence Hall of Korea
at

Liberation Day (Korea) The National Liberation Day of Korea is a holiday celebrated annually on 15 August in both South and North Korea. It commemorates Victory over Japan Day, when the United States and the Soviet Union liberated Korea from 35 years of Japanese ...

Cheonan History museums in South Korea Museums in South Chungcheong Province {{SouthKorea-museum-stub

Exhibits

Events

History

See also

References

External links