Dongnimmun Arch (Independence Gate)
Granite triumphal arch built to mark a nation's break from tributary rule, modeled on the Arc de Triomphe.
Location
About this audio guide
This guide to Dongnimmun Arch in Seoul begins at the exact spot where Korean officials once knelt to greet tribute-collecting envoys from China, until that old gate came down in 1895. It follows Seo Jae-pil, a onetime coup plotter who fled to America, returned as Philip Jaisohn, and rallied ordinary Koreans to fund a monument in its place, plus the Swiss architect and Korean stonemasons who spent about a year raising it. Two weathered pillars from the original gate still stand just beside it.
This audio guide was created using AI.
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