Tapgol Park (Seoul)

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Tapgol Park, formerly Pagoda Park, is a small (19,599 m²/23,440 yd²/4.84 acre) public park. This park was once a site of Wongaksa (Buddhist Temple). The word tap means "pagoda", and the park gets its name from the Wongaksa Pagoda, a 10 storied stone pagoda (National Treasure #2) located in the park.

There are many statues and monuments in the park dedicated to various patriots and victims of Japanese brutality. There are a number of bas-relief statues representing Korean patriots, the Declaration of Independence Monument, and a poem by Han Yong-un.

As an important place in recent Korean history, it is a popular place for demonstrations of various types. It was the designated termination of the Grand Peace March for Democracy on June 24th 1986 that led to the acceptance of free elections by President Chun Doo-whan of South Korea.