This month, Gwanghwamun (광화문) plaza was unveiled to the public after years of construction. Gwanghwamun (광화문) plaza is located in Seoul (서울), the capital city of South Korea. The plaza is a popular place for the natives because it has a huge water fountain. In the sweltering summer, the kids try to run past all the shooting streams of water. It’s an informal place, so you’ll see lots of people relaxing and getting drenched from the fountain.

The Gwanghwamun (광화문) plaza is in front of the gate of the Gyungbokgung Palace (경복궁). Gwanghwamun (광화문) gate is the main gate to the palace. It contains a lot of Korean history. The Gwanghwamun (광화문) gate has been destroyed and constructed many times. The first time it was destroyed was in 1592 by a Japanese invasion. The second time was also destroyed in the early 1900s by the Japanese invasion. By the Korean War, the gate was almost completely destroyed.

The Gyungbokgung Palace (경복궁) has a lot of history behind it as well. Like the Gwanghwamun (광화문) gate, the palace was destroyed by the Japanese invasion. It’s taken about twenty years to restore the palace. The construction of the palace is not finnished yet. It’s estimated that it will take another twenty years to restore the palace the way it was. Even though the restoration isn’t finnished, tourists can still see the palace.

It’s no coincidence that the gate was displayed this month. August 15th was actually Liberation Day or gwangbokjul (광복절). This is a public holiday that commemorates the day Korea was liberated from the colonial rule of the Japanese.

In sum, I guess you can say that there are two things to celebrate this month: 1) the inauguration of the gate and 2) the continued freedom of Korea from colonial rule.