Korea on Sunday celebrated its liberation from Japan's colonial rule 65 years ago, unveiling the newly restored Gwanghwamun, a royal palace gate and the nation's landmark that fell into disgrace during the occupation.
Gwanghwamun, the main gate to Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul, was revealed to the public on Liberation Day after a four-year restoration that has kept it hidden from view. Its long-lost nameplate was also restored and put back on the gate's facade.
"We can now see Gwanghwamun standing tall here once again, restored to its past glory," Lee said in his speech at the ceremony for the 65th anniversary of Liberation Day at Gwanghwamun Square in front of the palace gate.
"Gwangwhamun was blocked and neglected, and the flow of our national spirit was choked off," he said, adding, "We incessantly endeavored and struggled for the country's independence."
Gwanghwamun was constructed in 1395 as part of nation building by the nascent Joseon Dynasty, but was destroyed during the Japanese invasions in the 1590s, during which a large swath of the nation was burned to ashes. It took a long time for the Joseon dynasty to resuscitate, and the palace and gate were finally reconstructed in the 1860s.
But soon after, Japan, which had absorbed Western modernization more quickly than any other Asian country, colonized Korea. Inside the royal palace, Japanese assassins killed Empress Myeongseong of the Joseon Dynasty, and in 1910, the island nation formally annexed the country.
While demolishing scores of palace buildings to make space for its governor-general office, Japan moved Gwanghwamun from the front of the palace into the northeastern corner.
Although colonial rule ended with Japan's defeat in World War II in 1945, the royal gate was once again destroyed during the Korean War.
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