| Dongnimmun at Seodaemun Independence Park in northwestern Seoul on Thursday. / Korea Times file |
By Nam Hyun-woo
Dongnimmun, or Independence Gate, is a monument that reflects the Korean history that willpower does not necessarily guarantee independence.
The gate is located at Tongil-ro in Seodaemun-gu, northwestern Seoul, and is considered one of the most familiar traditional structures among Seoul citizens these days. However, the irony lies in the fact that this monument hardly glorifies Korea's “independence,” especially in current days when Korea is pitted into brawls over its history.
As its name shows, it was built in 1897 to stand as the symbol of Korea's independence (“dongnim”) from its toadyism toward China and other world powers surrounding the Korean Peninsula. The symbol of independence survived through a 36-year Japanese colonial rule and the following is a brief historical background.
| Seo Jae-pil talks with a U.S. army colonel at the Westin Chosun hotel in this undated file photo. |
Gabo Reform
From late 19th century, the religion of Donghak spread all around the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910). The religion, based on founder Choi Che-u's teaching that all humans are equal and the society needs to reform itself not by external intervention, struck a chord with peasants who were suffering from tyranny and exploitation derived from social hierarchy.
Progressive peasants soon formed an organization of guerrillas and a series of revolts occurred from the 1870s. The rebellion movement peaked in 1894, with massive rebels occupying southern regions under the leadership of Jeon Bong-jun.
However, the revolutionary movement also triggered foreign powers to intervene in Joseon, as the government asked China's Qing Dynasty to send troops and Japan also dispatched its troops, citing a pretext of protecting its people in Joseon.
As the situation got against their plan, the rebels signed a treaty with the government. However, the Japanese troops invaded the Gyeongbokgung Palace and formed a pro-Japanese cabinet and the rebels stood up against again, but they fell apart following a series of losses in key battles.
While suppressing the rebels along with Joseon army, Japan also fought the Qing Dynasty in the first Sino-Japanese War. As Japan won the war, Qing signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki, which stipulates the end of Korea's tributary relationship with the Qing Dynasty.
Amid such a backdrop, the cabinet also launched massive sweeping reformative programs, called Gabo Reform. The programs contained modern reforms, such as abolition of slavery and class system, and also ended the use of Chinese era name, symbolizing that Joseon has severed its subordinate relationship with China.
| The statue of Seo in Seodaemun Independence Park on May 16, 2010. |
Independence Club
Following Gabo Reform, the government demolished Yeongeunmun gate and Mohwagwan pavilion, which are located just outside of capital Hanseong (now Seoul), in 1896, in a bid to proclaim its autonomy.
Yeongeunmun, meaning a gate for welcoming emperor's grace, was a gate used by Joseon King by going through this door to greet envoys from the Qing and Ming Dynasties. The envoys were then ushered in Mohwagwan and received as diplomatic guests.
Then, independence activist Seo Jai-pil, also known as Philip Jaisohn, and his Independence Club suggested an initiative to build a monument that symbolizes Koreans' continued determination to achieve national independence on the site of Yeongeunmun.
As the king approved the gate to be replaced with Dongnimmun and Mohwagwan to be remodeled into Independence Hall, the construction for Dongnimmun began on the site of rubbles of Yeongeunmun under the supervision of the Independence Club. Breaking ground in November 1896, the gate was completed on Nov. 20, 1897.
The construction was led by Seo. Seo, who fled to the U.S. after the botched 1884 Gapsin Coup, returned to his home in December 1895 and founded the club, a gathering of reformists seeking to promote Korea's self-development and democratic participation in government decisions.
Also, he published Korea's first private and modern newspaper Dongnip Sinmun, or the Independent, on April 7, 1896. The bilingual paper had three pages for Korean audiences and one page for English audiences.
In 1898, however, Seo and the club were accused of seeking a republic country and the government asked Seo, who attained U.S. citizenship in 1890, to leave Korea, while other club members were arrested. More information about Seo is available on The Korea Times Dec. 28, 2011, edition.
Some 12 years later, Korea fell into Japan's colonial rule, which lasted for 36 years. During the period, many historical monuments were damaged or destroyed by the Japanese, but the gate was preserved, while many independent activists were imprisoned and cruelly tortured at Seodaemun Prison, some 400 meters away from the gate.
There are debates over how it could be preserved, but many historians agree that Japan recognized the gate as a symbol of independence from China or Russia, not from Japan. For Japan, the gate, built after Gabo Reform having its influence, rather came as a monument commemorating the fact that it took control over Korea away from China.
Also, Independence Club's another leader Yi Wan-yong, who later became the culprit of placing Korea under Japan's colonial rule, shouldered a significant amount of the gate's construction fee. Also, there are claims that Yi wrote the plaque of the gate, citing a 1927 Dong-A Ilbo article.
| The April 7, 1896, edition of the Independent;. |
Constructional value
Modeled after the Arc de Triomphe in France, Dongnimmun was built by laying 1,850 granite bricks. It is marked as one of the early western-style buildings.
Standing 14.28 meter-high, 11.48-wide and 6.25 meter-thick, both sides of the gate have engravings of its name Dongnimmun in Hangeul and Chinese character as well as the country's national flag. The gate has a stone staircase leading to the attic on its inner left side.
The majority of the expense for the construction was collected as a fund by Koreans and two pillars of Yeongeunmun are still preserved in front of the gate.
According to Seo's autobiography, he sketched the concept of the gate after Arc de Triomphe's photograph, and a Russian-born architect Afanasy Ivanovich Seredin-Sabatin designed it.
The gate went under a series of repairs after its completion, and moved some 70 meters northwest from its initial position in 1979 because of a road construction.
With the opening of Seodaemun Independence Park, which encompasses the gate, Independence Hall and Seodaemun Prison History Hall, in 2009, the gate was opened to the public and lets visitors actually walk through the gate. The park is located near Dongnimmun station line No. 3.
| Seo's letters to the king during Seo's stay in the U.S. |