Independence Gate Built

With public donations the Independence Club built the Independence Gate where the Yeongeunmun had welcomed Chinese envoys; the cornerstone was laid in November 1896 and the gate finished a year later.

The gate was built as a symbol of independence and of the end of Korea’s tributary relationship with Qing China. Seo Jae-pil drew the first design on the model of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and through the Independent newspaper everyone from the royal family and officials to students and merchants gave money. The two stone pillars of the demolished Yeongeunmun were left standing in front of it.

The granite gate is inscribed "Independence Gate" in Hangul and in Chinese characters, each flanked by a carved Taegeukgi. In 1979 road works moved it about 70 metres from its original site.