Promotion of Sanctification of Tapgol Park, the Holy Site of the March 1st Independence Movement

Jongno-gu Holds March 1st Movement Anniversary Ceremony and Founding Meeting of the National Promotion Committee for the Sanctification of Tapgol Park

Aims to Restore the Historical Value of Tapgol Park, the Starting Point of the 1919 Anti-Japanese Independence Movement, and Raise Nationwide Interest

Commemoration Ceremony to be Held at 2 PM on March 1st... Reading of the Declaration of Independence and Commemorative Speech by Mayor Jeong Munheon

On February 28th, a March 1st Movement Reenactment Flash Mob to be Presented in the Annyeong Insadong Area

Tapgol Park Samilmun Gate

"We declare that Joseon is an independent country and that the Joseon people are a self-reliant nation."

On that day in 1919, when 33 national representatives gathered at Taehwagwan to read the Declaration of Independence, thousands of people also gathered here, shouting at the top of their lungs, "Long live Korean independence."

Jongno-gu (Mayor Jeong Munheon) will hold the 104th March 1st Movement Anniversary Ceremony and the Founding Meeting of the National Promotion Committee for the Sanctification of Tapgol Park, the starting point of the anti-Japanese independence movement, at Tapgol Park on March 1st.

Tapgol Park is Seoul’s first modern-style park and the site of the Ten-Story Stone Pagoda of Wongaksa Temple, a masterpiece of Buddhist culture from the Joseon Dynasty. Most importantly, the wave of the March 1st Independence Movement that began here spread beyond Seoul to the entire country, marking it as the starting point of the independence movement.

Jongno-gu planned this event to revive the historical value of Tapgol Park, where the Korean Declaration of Independence was read and Korea declared itself an independent nation to the world, and to raise nationwide interest.

Accordingly, starting at 2 PM on March 1st, the 104th March 1st Movement Anniversary Ceremony will be held together with the Founding Meeting of the National Promotion Committee for the Sanctification of Tapgol Park, with participation from seven major religious groups including Buddhism, Protestantism, Catholicism, Confucianism, Won Buddhism, Cheondoism, and the Council of Ethnic Religions.

The event will begin with a Taegukgi (Korean national flag) march by the Republic of Korea Armed Forces Color Guard to heighten the March 1st atmosphere, followed by a military band performance by the Capital Defense Command at the Octagonal Pavilion, and a reading of the Declaration of Independence by Professor Nam Kyung-ju of Hongik University.

Then, Jongno-gu Mayor Jeong Munheon will deliver a commemorative speech explaining the significance of the ceremony and meeting, Lee Jong-chan, the founding representative of the National Promotion Committee, will give an inaugural address expressing aspirations for the sanctification project of Tapgol Park, and Kim Sam-yeol, chairman of the Independence Patriots’ Descendants Association, will read the declaration of the founding meeting.

The event will conclude with a flash mob performance by students from the Department of Performing Arts at Hongik University, the singing of the March 1st Movement song, and a commemorative photo session.

Tapgol Park Memorial Monument for the March 1st Independence Declaration

Meanwhile, prior to the main event, Jongno-gu will present two flash mob performances reenacting the March 1st Movement at 2 PM and 4 PM on February 28th in the Annyeong Insadong area (49 Insadong-gil). Thirty musical theater students from Hongik University will wave Taegukgi flags and vividly recreate the shouts of that day.

Mayor Jeong Munheon stated, "By holding the ceremony at the site where the March 1st Movement began, we aim to reexamine the historical and cultural value of Tapgol Park. We plan to promote the ‘Sanctification Project of Tapgol Park,’ reflecting the national spirit and historical significance, to restore it as an ‘open park’ for everyone. As this is a meaningful project that highlights the true meaning and value of Tapgol Park, a precious cultural heritage of our nation, we ask for continuous interest and support."