Tapgol Park, formerly Pagoda Park, is a small ({{convert, 19,599, sqm, acre, abbr=on, disp=sqbr) public park located at 99 Jong-ro (street),

Jongno-gu file:Korea-Seoul-Bosingak-05.jpg, Bosingak bell pavilion Jongno District () is a district () in central Seoul, South Korea. It takes its name from a major local street, Jongno, which means "Bell Road". Characteristics Jongno District has been th ...

Seoul, South Korea Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 o ...

. This park was once a site of Wongaksa (Buddhist Temple). The word ''tap'' means "

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

", and the park gets its name from the

Wongaksa Pagoda Wongaksa Pagoda is a twelve metre high ten storey marble pagoda in the center of Seoul, South Korea. It was constructed in 1467 to form part of Wongaksa temple, that King Sejo had founded two years before on the site of an older Goryeo-period tem ...

, a 10 storied stone pagoda ( National Treasure No.2) located in the park. It was previously the site of a 15th-century Buddhist temple, and a 10 storied stone pagoda and a few relics of the temple still can be seen in the park. It was organized as a garden and national park by

John McLeavy Brown Sir John McLeavy Brown, (27 November 1835 – 6 April 1926) was an Irish civil servant in the British Colonial Service. Brown was born in Magheragall, Lisburn, Ireland. After attending Queen's University Belfast and Trinity College Dublin, McLea ...

, the Irish advisor to provincial subdivision in 1897. One of the monuments in the park is the Monument of Wongaksa built in 1471 to record the founding of Wongaksa (temple) in 1465. On the front is an inscription composed by Kim Suon with the calligraphy done by Seong Im. On the back is found an inscription composed by Seo Geo Jeong with the calligraphy done by Jeong Nam Jong. The turtle shaped base is constructed from granite and the body is cut from marble. The monument measures 1.3 meters/4.3 feet wide and stands 4.9 meters/16.2 feet in height. Two elaborately carved intertwined dragons rising toward the sky holding a Buddhist gem reside on the top of the monument. Monument of Wongaksa is Treasure #2. Tapgol Park is historically important as the site of the origin of the

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 ...

1919, an important part of 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, whic ...

as the first location for the reading of the Proclamation of Independence. There are a number of

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

statues representing Korean patriots, the Proclamation of Independence Monument, and a poem by

Han Yong-un Han Yong-un ( ko, 한용운; 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 pen name; his ...

. As an important place in modern Korean history, it is a popular place for demonstrations of various types. It was the designated termination of the Grand Peace March for Democracy on June 24, 1986, that led to the acceptance of free elections by President

Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah as president of South Korea from 1980 to 198 ...

of South Korea. It is served by Jongno 3-ga Station on Lines 1, 3 and 5 of the

Seoul Subway The Seoul Metropolitan Subway is a metropolitan railway system consisting of 23 rapid transit, light metro, commuter rail and people mover lines located in northwest South Korea. The system serves most of the Seoul Metropolitan Area incl ...

Gallery

File:Tapgol park March 01 1919 Independence Movement.jpg, Ten bas-relief to commemorate March 1, 1919 Independence Movement File:Entrance to Tapgol Park.jpg, Entrance, center writing says "3 1 Door" where "3 1" refers to the March 1st 1919 Independence Movement File:Korea-Seoul-Tapgol Park Wongaksa Monument 0091&2-06.jpg, Monument of Wongaksa

References

* {{cite web, url=http://jikimi.cha.go.kr/english/search_plaza_new/ECulresult_Db_View.jsp?VdkVgwKey=13,03540000,11, title=Tapgol Park of Seoul, publisher=Culture Heritage Administration, accessdate=2013-05-26 * {{cite web, url=http://www.visitseoul.net/en/article/article.do?_method=view&art_id=267&lang=en&m=0004003002017&p=03, title=Tapgol Park, publisher=Visit Seoul, accessdate=2013-05-26 {{Seoul parks {{coord, 37, 34, 16.00, N, 126, 59, 18.56, E, source:kowiki_region:KR, display=title Jongno District Parks in Seoul

Gallery

See also

References