It happened here (20)

This is the place where Pope Francis held the beatification of 124 Korean martyrs on August 16, 2014. Beatification means the official declaration of the blessed, and canonization means to proclaim a saint to the blessed in Catholicism. 79 Korean martyrs were already beatified into the blessed in 1925, and 24 martyrs in 1968. They were canonized into sainthood by Pope Saint John Paul II when he visited Korea in 1984. 124 of Korea's early Catholics were beatified by Pope Francis here in Gwanghwamun Square in 2014. Around Gwanghwamun, there are many related Joseon government offices that martyrs were tortured and executed such as the Mnistry of Justice (Hyeongjo), Police Agency (Podocheong), State Tribunal (Uigeumbu) and Prison Administration Office (Jeonokseo). As the historic beatification ceremony was held, this place was reborn into a place of reconciliation and blessing from a place of persecution and oppression of the martyrs. To honor the meaning of this beatification ceremony, the Archdiocese of Seoul installed a commemorative stone (floor stone) at the site of the beatification of Gwanghwamun on August 23, 2015. The blessing ceremony was officiated by Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, then Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Seoul. The Korean Catholic Church continues its effort for the beatification and canonization of the Korean martyrs. Along with the preparation of canonization of the 124 blesseds, another beatification preparation is in full swing for Thomas Choe Yang-eop, the Korea's second Catholic priest and Yi Byeok and his fellow martyrs as well as the priests, monks and nuns who were sacrificed during the Korean War.

This is the place where the 24th division, 34th regiment of the US army blew up the Geumgang Bridge on July 12, 1950, and delayed the 4th division of the North Korean army until July 14. When the Korean War broke out, the 24th division, 34th regiment of the US army established a line or defense around Geumgang (the Geum River), a very important fortified area south of the Han River, blocking the North Korean army's march southward. After destroying the Geumgang Bridge on July 12, which was connected to Gongju City, the 34th division successfully defended the area against attack by the 4th division of the North Korean army several times. When the North Korean army detoured around the Geumgang Bridge and reached the area of Geomsang-ri, the 34th division of the US army moved to Nonsan. The Geumgang Bridge was opened on November 25, 1933, but was destroyed during the Korean War. It was restored in 1956.

On September 5, 1816, the British naval ships Alceste and Lyla landed at Maryangjin, Seocheon, in order to map the west coast of Korea. On that date, Captains Murray Maxwell and Basil Hall presented a Bible to Daebok Cho, local governor of Maryangjin. For the first time in history, the Bible had arrived on Korean soil.

The 'Baegopun Dari' (hunger bridge, currently Hongrim Bridge) area is the site where Citizen's Army had a good regional defense after they defeated the paratroopers downtown on May 21st. In preparation for the re-invasion of the paratroopers, who retreated through the mountains behind Chosun University, the militia, and other youths formed the Citizen's Army at sundown and formed a seamless defense perimeter centered around the bridge. At the peak of the Uprising on May 21st, the Citizen's Army successfully organized a defensive perimeter in the Hungry Bridge area (now the Hong-rim Bridge) after defeating the Martial Law Forces (MLF) downtown. Around sunset that day, people in the National Defense Reserve and local youths organized the Citizen's Army. After the MLF retreated into the mountains behind Chosun University, the Citizen's Army formed a watertight defense around the bridge in an effort to block the MLF's reentry into the downtown area. Around midnight May 22nd, the MLF was trying to advance through a nearby village but Citizen's Army exchanged fire with them for over 30 minutes, before once again pushing them back in defeat. Residents of the area showed their support for the Citizen's Army by offering them rice, drinks and cigarettes.

This was the field hospital caring for injured citizens and members of the Citizens' Army with devotion during the May 18 Democratization Movement. Even in the emergency situation, doctors and nurses did their best to cure the injured in the corridors and dangerous patients who had mortal wounds, and the voluntary blood donation lines continued. During the uprising, the Chonnam University Hospital was used as a field hospital that treated victims of the Martial Law Force's (MLF) brutality. The medical staff exemplified true selflessness in their care of the bloody and sometimes mangled bodies. The doctors and nurses worked day and night trying to save the lives of the victims. The hospital corridors were crowded with the injured and the dying. In lines that extended to the front gate of the hospital, citizens waited to donate blood. At times, the Citizen's Army placed machine guns on the roof of the hospital during fierce battles between them and the MLF.

Constructed in the late 1960s. The victims of the uprising were aid temporarily here during the days of the Gwangju Democratic Uprising (May 18th Democratization Movement). After witnessing the bodies of those who were sacrificed by the mass shooting and brutal suppression, the citizens were outraged at the barbarous acts committed by the martial law forces. Citizens formed a long line to offer incense and pay their respects for the victims, once again reaffirming their determination to fight for democratization. 

Jeongbangpokpo falls, falling from a cliff, is 23 meters high and 10 meters wide. It has unique scenery not only in Korea but also in the oriental area. It is called 'Jeongbang-hapoak' due to its picturesque scene when viewed from a boat and is one of the 10 Scenic Wonders of Jeju Island. The waterfall starts from 'Jeongmosi' and it is said that if people play a drum and jang-gu at the point of the waterfall drops, turtles come up to the surface and dance on the water. Jeongbangpokpo falls is famous for a legend of 'Seobul' who was a legman of Shi Huangdi during the Qin dynasty and came to Hallasan Mountain in Jeju Island in search for an elixir of an eternal life. After he failed to find the elixir, he carved 'Seobulgwagi' on the cliff of the waterfall and returned to the west. Though the site located between Jeongbangpokpo Falls and Sonammeori Hill boasts beautiful coastal cliffs, it also preserves the painful history of the Jeju 4.3 Incident. At the time of the Jeju 4.3 Incident, Seogwi-ri was the administrative center of the southern part of Jeju. It had the Seogwi-myeon Office, the Namjeju-gun Office, and the Seogwipo Police Station. As suppression of the rebellion by the South Korean army became severe, the area was used as a key military base. A battalion headquarters was set up at the Seogwi-myeon Office. Not only residents of Seogwi-myeon and Jungmun-myeon but also those of the other southern districts including Daejeong-myeon, Namwon-myeon, Andeok-myeon, and Pyoseon-myeon were accommodated at prison camps. Starch factories and button factories that were then used as prison camps were flooded with inmates. The residents were interrogated by the military's intelligence division. Most of them were brought to this site for summary execution. It is reported that 256 people were put to death, which is the largest number of victims in the southern part of the island.

Ingubu, named by its left curved geography, is one of the hard fought battlefields between the suppressing troops and the rebels which consisted of some of the 14th regiment and left-wingers after the Yeo-Sun uprising broke out. It was known as the route for the suppressing troops that were devastated and fled; even Song Ho-seong, the commander in chief in the suppressing troops, got injured by being sniped from one local left winger and fell to the ground. In this battle, Song's armored vehicles advanced deep inside the downtown to the rice warehouse in Chungmu-dong (near Simin theater) but kept failing to recapture the city by incessant resistance from the rebels who ambushed on the ridgeline of canyons in Ingubu and conducted sudden attacks. During this battle , some of the 14th regiment did moonlight flight through Myodo district to enter Mt. Baekun in Gwangyang city.

On March 23, 1939, Adolf Hitler spoke from the balcony of the Drama Theater on the occasion of the annexation of Klaipėda region to Germany

The exact date of the establishment of the first Klaipėda theater is unknown. According to some authors, the theater "House of Comedy" has been operating since 1777. The beginning of Klaipėda Drama Theater is considered to be in 1935, when the closed Šiauliai Drama Theater was moved to Klaipėda. Named Klaipeda National Theatre, it operated until the annexation of Klaipėda region in spring of 1939.