The Independence Hall of Korea + Night Shots of Cheonan
my favorite shot
A week back, my friends and I headed to Cheonan, Korea for a day trip, as we’re wont to do these days. The goal was to take photos of the maple leaves—two of our friends are Canadian, so this was a mission of the upmost importance.
Cheonan is a town in South Chungcheong, about an hour by train or bus from Daejeon. It’s home to the Independence Hall of Korea (독립기념관), a giant memorial dedicated to Korea’s independence from Japanese colonial rule. It’s also known for its red-bean-stuffed, walnut-shaped treats called hodugwaja 호두과자 (which you can find everywhere in Korea, but it’s especially famous in Cheonan).
Here are some of my favorite photos. The maple leaves weren’t 100% out yet, but it was nice to enjoy the fresh air.
The actual campus of the hall is massive and lined with Korean flags, bookended by the Tower of the People on one end and the House of Peoples on the other.
The House of Peoples itself was breathtaking. It’s a massive commemoration hall with a giant statue inside devoted to the strength of the Korean people.
Further inside the complex are history museums of prehistoric Korea all the way to Joseon dynasty, as well as the Garden of Unification Desire, a place for demonstrations.
There’s more to this place, with seven exhibitions, but we were tired already, so we snapped photos, ate some tteokbeokki and headed out.
We headed across town, hoping to see Arario Gallery, but it was closed to prepare for a new art exhibition. There was also a mandu place across the street that looked hella good, so maybe I’ll make a return soon?
As always, I got lots of shots of the streets and alleys because, well, those are my favorite.
We also found an extremely cute dog who seemed to be looking for their owner. We walked along with them for a bit but had to catch our train, so I hope they ended up finding them :(
Thanks for reading!