Key takeaways
In 1946, the remains of three independence fighters known as the Three Martyrs — Yun Bong-gil, Yi Bong-chang, and Baek Jeong-gi — along with senior officials of Korea's exiled Provisional Government such as Yi Dong-nyeong, Jo Seong-hwan, and Cha Yi-seok, were interred here. Fact Kim Gu also hoped to bring home the remains of independence fighter An Jung-geun (known for his 1909 assassination of Japanese statesman Itō Hirobumi), but the remains were never located, so an empty memorial tomb was built for him instead. Fact In 1949, Kim Gu's own remains were interred at this same site. Fact Hyochang Park was designated a national Historic Site (Sajeok No. 330) in 1989. Fact
In effect, the ground the royal family was forced to abandon was filled again — this time by independence fighters who chose, of their own will, to return. That contrast is what sets Hyochang Park apart from any other park in Seoul.
What to look for on site
- The layout of the Tombs of the Three Martyrs and the Provisional Government officials' graves
- An Jung-geun's empty memorial tomb, built without any actual remains
- The relationship between Kim Gu's grave and the Kim Gu Memorial Hall
Original, site-only, restored, or recreated?
- Site only, original gone: the site of Crown Prince Munhyo's memorial shrine — the actual tomb was relocated to Seosamneung and nothing remains here.
- Still standing today: the Tombs of the Three Martyrs, Kim Gu's grave, and the other independence fighters' graves — established between 1946 and 1949, and unchanged since. Fact