Gwangju Veterans Office Signs MOU to Revitalize Gangjin-eup Church Bell Tower

"Promoting On-Site Education to Foster Patriotism Among Students"

Gwangju Regional Veterans Office and Korean Christian Presbyterian Church Gangjin-eup recently signed a business agreement to revitalize the memorial facilities. Photo by Gwangju Regional Veterans Office

On April 28, the Gwangju Regional Veterans Office announced that it had recently signed a business agreement with the Korean Christian Presbyterian Church Gangjin-eup to revitalize memorial facilities.

With this agreement, the two organizations have pledged to work together to promote the activation of the "Gangjin-eup Church Bell Tower," which has been designated as a memorial facility by the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs. Gangjin-eup Church also plans to carry out volunteer activities utilizing the memorial facility and to implement educational programs on-site to foster a spirit of patriotism among students.

The Gangjin-eup Church Bell Tower, built in January 1914, is a symbolic site that made the Gangjin Independence Movement possible on April 4, 1919. At that time, with very few clocks available, the people of Gangjin County coordinated their actions to the sound of the church bell, waving the Taegeukgi at Dove Rock and holding independence rallies at the marketplace.

To commemorate the independence movement of that day, the Gangjin 4·4 Independence Movement Memorial Ceremony is held every year on April 4, and a bell-ringing ceremony takes place at noon at the bell tower in front of Gangjin-eup Church.