Tapgol Park

Infobox Korean name
hangul=탑골 공원
hanja=塔골公園
rr=Tapgol Gongwon
mr=T'apkol Kongwŏn

Tapgol Park, formerly Pagoda Park, is a small (19,599 m²) public park located at 97 Jongno-gil, Seoul, South Korea. This park was once a site of Wongaksa temple. The word "tap" means "pagoda", and the park gets its name from Wongaksa Pagoda 10 tier pagoda (National Treasure No.2) in the park.

Tapgol Park is historically important as the site of the origin of the March 1st Movement 1919, an important part of the Korean independence movement as the first location for the reading of the Declaration of Independence.

It was previously the site of a 15th century Buddhist temple, and a 10 tier pagoda and a few relics of the temple still can be seen in the park. It was organized as a garden by John McLeavy Brown, the Irish advisor to provincial subdivision in 1897, and opened to the public in 1920. There are many statues and monuments in the park, dedicated to various various patriots and victims of Japanese brutality. There are a number of bas-relief statues representing Korean patriots, the Declaration of Independence Monument, and a poem by Han Yong-un.

As an important place in recent Korean history, it is a popular place for demonstrations of various kinds. It was the designated terminus of the Grand Peace March for Democracy on June 24th 1986 that led to the acceptance of free elections by President Chun Doo-whan of South Korea. It is served by Jongno 3-ga Station on Lines 1, 3 and 5 of the Seoul Subway.

Gallery

See also

*Jongno
*Independence Park
*List of parks in Seoul