The Independence Gate is a memorial gate located in Seoul, South Korea. The gate was built following the first Sino-Japanese war to inspire a spirit of independence away from previous Korean arrangement as a Chinese tributary state.
The Independence Gate was built to replace the Yeongeunmun Gate, which was a symbol of diplomatic relations between Korea and Qing Dynasty. To raise funds for the building, the Independence Club collected contributions.
Construction of the gate began on November 21, 1896, and it was completed on November 20, 1897. The design, by Seo Jae-pil, was modeled on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It measures 14.28 meters in height, 11.48 meters in width, and is made of approximately 1,850 pieces of granite.
In 1979, it was moved from its original position 70 meters northwest by rezoning.
Coordinates: 37°34′20.25″N 126°57′35.23″E / 37.5722917°N 126.9597861°E / 37.5722917; 126.9597861
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Famous quotes containing the words independence and/or gate:
“We commonly say that the rich man can speak the truth, can afford honesty, can afford independence of opinion and action;—and that is the theory of nobility. But it is the rich man in a true sense, that is to say, not the man of large income and large expenditure, but solely the man whose outlay is less than his income and is steadily kept so.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“And we, barely recalled from sleep there, sense
Arrivals lowing in a doleful distance
Horny dilemmas at the gate once more.
Come and choose wrong, they cry, come and choose wrong....”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)