Dongnimmun Arch, Seoul

This monument was erected after the Gabo Reform to affirm the nation's will to independence and self-reliance, by demolishing Yeongeunmun Gate, where Chinese envoys had once been received. The Gabo Reform (1894–1896) was a reform movement pursuing domestic political and institutional change, but it failed owing to interference from foreign powers, and the country's independence and self-reliance were not achieved either. In response, determined to allow no further interference with the nation's independence and freedom, the people tore down Yeongeunmun Gate and built Dongnimmun Arch on its site. In 1896, the first year of the Geonyang era, under the leadership of the Independence Club organised by Seo Jae-pil, the project won the king's approval and broad support from patriotic figures and the public, and was completed in 1898, the second year of the Gwangmu era, modelled on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Built of stacked granite, the arch has a rainbow-shaped archway at its centre, with a stone staircase inside on the left leading up to the top, which is enclosed by a stone balustrade. The keystone at the centre of the archway is carved with a plum-blossom design, the symbol of the Joseon Dynasty, and above it, on both front and back, the name 'Dongnimmun' is carved in Hangeul and Chinese characters, flanked on either side by the Taegeukgi, the national flag. In front of the gate stand two surviving base stones of Yeongeunmun Gate, themselves designated a historic site. The arch originally stood in the middle of a road 70 m to the southeast, but was moved to its present location in 1979 during construction of Seongsan-daero Road.

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Where it is

Region

Seodaemun-gu, Seoul

Designation

Historic Site · 사적