Cheonan visit: The Independence Hall of Korea

Read Part 1 of our Cheonan visit here.

After lunch and a short stop to look out over the area surrounding Cheonan, Daniel drove us to The Independence Hall of Korea, which is located several kilometers outside the city. The drive there was beautiful, and so were the grounds of the expansive Independence Hall complex. But once we arrived at the first building, the beauty faded away as we saw the ugliness of hate and cruelty against the Korean people. We walked through seven large museums, each focusing on a different part of Korean history, most of them showing what the Korean people went through under the Japanese occupation of 1910-1945. It was terribly sad, absolutely angering, and astonishingly heartening to go through the buildings and see how the Koreans were treated, but also how they rose up and fought against the injustices being poured on them by their oppressors. It was a long and sobering afternoon, but I was so glad we had taken the time to come back to Cheonan and visit this great tribute to the Korean people who gave so much to free their country. I could say so much more, but I will let our many pictures do the rest of the talking...

Riding the shuttle train to the first building

Ali borrowed Daniel's hat because the sun was so bright

Hundreds of flags

Huge main hall - The Grand Hall of the Nation

Freedom fighters

The Statue of Indomitable Koreans

Huge Korean Flag

Wife & Pillar

1st Exhibition Hall - The Origin of the Korean People

Archer

Warrior

Building fortress walls

Diorama

9-tiered pagoda

Seaport

Printing stamp?

Hangul explanatory notes

Battle

Armored warship

General

Fire!!

Arrow rain machine

Giant arrow cannons

In the line of fire

2nd Exhibition Hall - National Crisis by Japanese Imperialism

Riding the trolley car

Loom...?

3rd Exhibition Hall - Struggles for National Rights

Silhouette show of an assassination 

Looking in on a meeting

Proclamation of Korea Independence

Flags

4th Exhibition Hall - The March First Independence Movement

Monument to freedom fighters

Demonstration

Market

Village street

5th Exhibition Hall - Patriotic Struggle for National Independence

Fighting in Manchuria

6th Exhibition Hall - Establishing the Great Korea

"Japanese" school

Display

Riot

Peace talks

Ali taking a ride

Dynamic 4D Theater

Goggle eyes

Back at the huge Grand Hall of the Nation again

Plaza of the Nation

An assasination

Other perspective

Monument to the Nation - Reunification Monument

Ali standing by the monument

Picture-in-picture