An afternoon walk along Jeongdong-gil, the romantic stone-wall road beside Deoksugung Palace brought me to a stately building called Jungmyeongjeon Hall. It isn’t grand in size, but its facade is elegant and dignified. I had little idea then of its bitter mark in Korea’s history.
It was originally a single-story building that served as a royal library. It was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1901 and it then became a two-story building. Its significance in Korea’s battle for independence began when Emperor Gojong set up his temporary residence here in 1904, after a fire broke out in the palace.
On November 17, 1905, the Eulsa Treaty was signed in this building. The treaty made Korea a protectorate of Japan, depriving Korea of its sovereignty. But Emperor Gojung was known to have resisted signing the treaty. Five high-ranking officials signed it which earns them the label “the five Eulsa criminals” in Korean history. Emperor Gojung tried to inform the other world powers regarding the unfair treaty but his efforts were not heard. In 1910, the annexation of Korea to Japan was sealed through the Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty.
The March 1 Movement was the beginning of this clamor for independence which Korea eventually gained on August 15, 1945.
The calm facade of Jungmyeongjeon Hall as it stands today belies the coercion that happened inside its walls more than a decade ago. As a tourist passing by, I was drawn. Its manicured lawn endows a sense of tranquility. But the details of history that unfolded through a digital reenactment inside one of the rooms where the signing took place is painful to a nation who had gone through atrocities from its colonizers. This emotion is not new to me. My country, the Philippines, had been under several colonizers the longest of which is Spain which ruled for over 300 years.
While remnants of the past are painful, they serve their purpose for our generation and all that are yet to come. Edmund Burke left us with this: “In history, a great volume is unrolled for our instruction, drawing the materials of future wisdom from the past errors and infirmities of mankind.”
Besides visiting the Kdrama filming locations, I also enjoy going to different historical places like this. I hope I can go back to Korea if not this year, maybe next year to explore more places like Jungmyeongjeon. For now, I plan to write more about the places here in the Philippines.
I went here kaso sarado pala ng Monday. Sabi ko babalik ako hindi na ko nakabalik.
Habang di pa ako nakakapunta sa SoKor, puro lista muna ko ng mga pwedeng puntahan at isasali ko muna sa list itong Jungmyeongjeon.
The place is really beautiful! wish you had taken a photo with out those peeps photobombing! Great to know more about SoKor’s reach history (di lang puro pang Kdrama hahahaha)
maswerte na ako that I had a photo. my husband is not an IG husband, hahaha.
We should learn from our history! This is very important in advancing our society forward. For example in the Philippines, we all know that we’ve fought hard for our freedom and right to vote. We should look back and recognize when our president is nothing, but a souless dictator. Please pray for our country.
Yey.. Thankyou for sharing mommy wendy. Very interesting po ito.. Check kopo ito. 🥰
Another Great Blog Ms.Wendy ganda ng Jungmyeongjeon .Dahil sayo nalalaman namin yung mga history ng place sa korea😊
I like to visit this Jungmyeongjeon Hall. I also love historical places like this aside from the kdrama filming locations.
One of my dream place 😘
What an amazing Experience to Visit this one of the best and Beautiful Country . Thanks for sharing this Ms. Wendy kahit papano pra ko naring narating ang Korea na gstong gusto ko rin talaga mapuntahan.
its great experience na makapunta sa ganito kaganda na spots of korea
thank you for sharing ms.wend
Wow so nice historical place yan Ms.Wendy sure na nag enjoy po kayo and talagang the best yong experience visiting this place