Jangchungdan Park

Park in Seoul, South Korea

Jangchungdan Park
A waterfall in the park (2012)

Location	261, Dongho-ro, Jung District, Seoul^[1]
Area	297 square kilometres (29,700 ha)
Established	1919

Korean name
Hangul	장충단 공원
Hanja	奬忠壇公園
Revised Romanization	Jangchungdan Gongwon
McCune–Reischauer	Changch'ungdan Kongwŏn

Jangchungdan Park (Korean: 장충단 공원) is a park located in Jung District, Seoul, South Korea. It is to the northeast of the mountain Namsan.^[1]^[2]

It contains the historic Dangchungdan Shrine [ko], which was built by Emperor Gojong 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.^[2]

History

After the 1895 assassination of Empress Myeongseong, her husband Emperor Gojong built the Jangchungdan Shrine as a memorial to her in November 1900 in this area.^[1]^[2] Around the time, the area was known just as "Jangchungdan".^[2]

Japanese colonial period

It became a park in 1919,^[1] during the Japanese colonial period. After the 1932 January 28 incident (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.^[2]

Post-liberation

The shrine was destroyed during the Korean War,^[1] although it was eventually rebuilt.^[2]

In 1959, the historic bridge Supyogyo [ko], which had stood over the stream Cheonggyecheon since 1420, was dismantled and moved to this park. A device used to measure the water level (수표; supyo) was also moved to the park. Both have since been designated Tangible Cultural Heritages of Seoul (No. 18 and 838 respectively).^[3]

In 1964, a bronze statue of Yi Tjoune 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.^[2]

On September 22, 1984, the park, which had an area of 418,000 square metres (4,500,000 sq ft) since 1940, had a portion of it merged into Namsan Park. Its new area was 297,000 m² (3,200,000 sq ft).^[1]^[2]

There are now a number of other monuments in the park that commemorate the March 1st Movement, the Korean independence movement, independence activist Yu Gwan-sun and Buddhist reformer Han Yong-un.^[1]^[2]

Between February and April 2022, the Seoul Museum of History ran an exhibition about the history of the park.^[4]

Gallery

The Jangchungdan Shrine, dedicated to the Empress (2016)
Walking paths in the park (2012)
The bridge Supyogyo, relocated from Cheonggyecheon (2008)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Jangchungdan Park (장충단공원)". Korea Tourism Organization. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ "장충단공원(奬忠壇公園)". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Retrieved 2023-08-22.
^ "Historic Sites of Cheonggyecheon Stream, Seoul (Gwangtonggyo Bridge, Supyogyo Bridge, and Ogansumun Watergate Site) - Heritage Search". Cultural Heritage Administration. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
^ "Jangchungdan Park: A Place of Remembrance and Rejoice | Exhibition > Lobby Exhibition | SEOUL MUSEUM OF HISTORY". museum.seoul.go.kr. Retrieved 2023-08-22.