Key takeaways
This hillside holds the graves of more than 130 figures from modern Korean history — among them Han Yong-un (the Buddhist monk and poet known by his pen name Manhae, a leading figure in the 1919 March First independence movement), along with fellow independence figures Oh Se-chang and Seo Byeong-ho, children's-literature pioneer Bang Jeong-hwan, poet Park In-hwan, painter Lee Jung-seob, and politician Jo Bong-am. Fact Among these, the graves of nine independence figures including Han Yong-un and Oh Se-chang are designated as Registered National Cultural Heritage. Fact Most sit unmarked among countless anonymous graves and are difficult to identify without specific signage.
Some sources describe Yu Gwan-sun — the teenage independence activist widely regarded as one of Korea's most revered martyrs of the March First movement — as also being buried here. However, accounts suggest her remains were processed as an unclaimed grave during the 1933 clearance of the Itaewon cemetery for residential development, cremated together with other unclaimed remains, and only then relocated here — meaning no individually identifiable, standalone grave has been confirmed. Verify FIT TRIP does not state this as settled fact, and instead flags it explicitly as a disputed claim.
What to look for on site
- Individual grave markers for figures like Han Yong-un and Bang Jeong-hwan
- Well-known figures' graves mixed in among anonymous ones
- How on-site signage handles the Yu Gwan-sun question
Responsible framing
The location of Yu Gwan-sun's remains remains a genuinely contested question even among scholars. Convey the discrepancy between sources honestly, rather than presenting either claim as settled fact.