Seogangsa Shrine enshrines Taesagong Yun Sindal (諱 莘達), the founding ancestor of the Papyeong Yun clan, who assisted King Taejo Wang Geon of Goryeo as a founding meritorious subject and held titles including Samhan Ikchan Gongsin and Samjung Daegwang Taesa. It also honors six ancestral sages including the 5th ancestor, Munsukgong Yun Gwan (諱 瓘); 6th ancestor, Munganggong Yun Eoni (諱 彥頤); 8th ancestor, Namwonbaek Yun Wi (諱 威); 10th ancestor, Ham-anbaek Yun Don (諱 敦); and 11th ancestor, Munheongong Yun Bo (諱 珤). It is the only shrine of its kind nationwide, conducting a memorial ceremony annually on the 18th day of the 3rd lunar month. Founder Yun Sindal was a meritorious subject of early Goryeo who aided King Taejo and attained the title Samhan Ikchan Gongsin. Yun Gwan was a famous general during Goryeo who conquered the Jurchen and built nine fortresses in the northeast, enshrined in King Yejong's tomb. Yun Eoni, his son, was a civil official active in politics during King Yejong's reign. The 8th ancestor Yun Wi founded the Namwon Yun clan, and the 10th ancestor Yun Don founded the Ham-an Yun clan. The shrine grounds include a memorial hall honoring the six sages, the lecture hall Gyeongmojae, Yukyeonggwan (a private school for children of relatives who came to study in Gwangju, functioning today as Namdo Haksook), and official buildings. Monuments such as the Seogangsa Shrine Monument, the Six Ancestral Sages’ Biographical Stele, the equestrian statue of General Munsukgong Yun Gwan, and a well are also located here. The shrine is built on a three-tier granite foundation with Jeongpyeongju bases and round wooden columns, comprising three bays in front and one bay on the side with an eight-ridged tiled roof. Each corner has three curved bracket arms supporting the eaves, with brelmo joinery on the column heads and a single modified bracket inserted between the columns to support the ceiling beams. The interior features a well ceiling with two main pillars and five beams. The windows and doors include flanking hinged doors and a central pair of double folding doors decorated with lattice windows; the lintel sits below the beam and includes molded patterns above. Eaves utilize flat horizontal boards forming a double-layer eave structure with dual bracket arms. The front facade is relatively well decorated with dancheong coloring and has a three-panel main door. Gyeongmojae functions as the lecture hall of Seogangsa, constructed on a 1.8m granite stair foundation with a concrete base and round wooden columns, featuring five bays in front and one on the side with a Japanese-style tiled roof and eight-ridged roof form. The interior has a central main hall and heated ondol rooms on both sides, separated by folding doors. The ceiling has a well shape with trapezoidal panel beams resting on the main beam and girder, classified as a five-beam structure. The column heads frame only the bracket arms and rafters; however, side bays add small rafters and lintels. Windows and doors vary with double folding doors on the sides and a central four-panel folding door with lattice windows. The ondol rooms have additional folding doors, and at the rear, two folding doors open to the main hall with wind windows above the ondol rooms. Recently, glass windows were added to protect against wind and rain. The main gate, a fil-sik door, is a soseul (double-leaf) gate decorated with wooden carvings including holsil and geobukgwi-mun motifs. The building dates to Danki 4301 (1968).
Gwangju is a region where various independence movements unfolded, starting with the Gwangju Student Movement during the Japanese colonial period. It was natural for the March 1st Independence Movement to take place in this region. The Gwangju 3.1 Independence Movement Monument was created to commemorate the March 1st Movement in the Gwangju area and to honor the spirit of those times. Measuring 4㎡ in area and 7m in length, it depicts female students holding Taegukgi flags and shouting independence slogans during the March 1st Movement. Built on May 10, 1995, the monument is located inside the back gate of Gwangju Sophia Girls’ High School. The front side is inscribed with ‘Gwangju 3.1 Independence Movement Commemoration,’ and the back side bears the names of Sophia Girls’ High School students who led the Gwangju 3.1 Movement on March 10, 1919, and endured imprisonment for it, as a way to honor them. The monument lists 23 names including Park Sunae, Lee Taeok, Kim Yangsun, Yoon Hyeolnyeo, Kim Deoksun, Jo Okhee, Lee Geumbong, Ha Youngja, Kang Hwaseon, Lee Rahyeol, Choi Suhyang, Kim Mansun, and Hong Soonhae. On the side is a memorial poem titled ‘Become a Star of History’: ‘Whose name has anyone left behind for eternity? Standing at the forefront of the 1919 March 1st Movement, pledging loyalty with the will to save the nation, placing the Taegukgi before us and shouting independence. When the nation was invaded by Japan’s guns and swords, choosing to fight risking life to break the chains rather than live without freedom. Even after enduring cruel torture, the noble spirit of patriotism who overcame it shines as a star of history forever.’
Yangnim-dong is the area where two Southern Presbyterian missionaries, Bae Yuji and Owen, moved from Mokpo to Gwangju in 1899 and began their evangelism. The hornbeam trees that have grown since then are currently protected by iron fences. Yangnim-dong Hornbeam Tree Road features various cultural spaces and tourist attractions such as old missionary residences, the Art Polygon, and the Hornbeam Creative Studio. The hornbeam is an evergreen broadleaf tree mainly native to the southern coast of Jeollanam-do and the western coast of Jeju. Its northern boundary is the Byeonsan Peninsula, and while it is also found in China, it is particularly known as a tree of Gwangju and Jeollanam-do. The leaves are thick, leathery, glossy, and have five thorn-shaped serrations at the tips. The white flowers gather in leaf axils in summer, and the drupes ripen red in autumn; in winter, they display a reddish color even in the snow, making them well suited as ornamental trees. The hornbeam in Yangnim-dong is about 6 meters tall, with a trunk circumference of 115 cm near the base, making it a rare large specimen for this species. The canopy width measures 7 meters north-south and 5 meters east-west, branching into two trunks at chest height.
The Owen Monument and Memorial Hall is located inside the Christian College of Nursing. The monument was erected in 1914 in memory of missionary Clement Owen who, together with Priest Bae Yoo-ji, was the first missionary to come to Jeollanam-do. The monument was built using the 4,200 dollars collected by Owen’s relatives in the USA after Owen died as a martyr in Gwangju.
Clement Owen came to Yangnim-dong, Gwangju in the 1900s and served as a missionary and medical volunteer with his wife, who was a nurse, before dying of exhaustion and overwork in 1909. Owen had hoped to build a memorial hospital in honor of his grandfather, but died before his plan was materialized. The plaque hanging in the hall honors both men in English and Chinese, reading, “In Memory of William L. and Clement C. Owen.”
A Western-style building with a total footage of around 1,435 meters squared (including the annex building), the monument is said to have been used as chapel and assembly room. Today, the building serves as the auditorium of the Christian College of Nursing. The white, two-story building features a lectern in one corner, with two columns of pews facing the lectern. The second floor balcony stretches along the two walls opposite the lectern.
◎ Travel information to meet Hallyu’s charm – movie “Love, Lies,”
In the film, So-yul and Yeon-hee come here to see the renowned singer Lee Nan-young perform. Owen Memorial Hall has a history as a venue for Christian gatherings, lectures, concerts, graduation ceremonies, and various cultural events in the region. Today, it continues to serve as a space for both religious and cultural gatherings.
Located within Christ Nursing University, Owen Memorial Hall was built in 1914 with funds of 4,200 dollars sent by American relatives to commemorate Missionary Owen, who came to Jeonnam as the first missionary with Pastor Bae Yuji and was martyred in Gwangju. The Western-style house has a total floor area of 434 square meters (including annex buildings). Judging by its layout, it is presumed to have been used as a chapel and assembly hall, but it is now used as an auditorium for Christ Nursing University. Owen was one of the foreigners living in Yangnim-dong's Western village in Gwangju in the 1900s and, along with his nurse wife, devoted himself to missionary and medical service activities until he died from overwork in 1909. Before his death, Owen planned to build a memorial hall for his grandfather because he prioritized missionary work over building a hospital commemorating his grandfather; the memorial hall bears his grandfather’s name for this reason. The two-story gray brick building has a square floor plan with a pulpit located diagonally at the corner, forming a symmetrical layout. The main entrances are on the north and west sides, shaped identically, with small secondary doors at the corners on the east and south sides. The first floor’s floor slopes toward the pulpit at about a 0.9/10 gradient, and the second floor balcony also slopes toward the pulpit at about a 1.2/10 grade. The walls use gray bricks (225mm length, 110mm width, 55mm thickness) laid in a Dutch bond pattern, with a thickness of 49cm built as cavity walls. The portion of the wall facing the ground is constructed of granite masonry. A brick belt course runs between the first and second floors, with attached columns of 2B thickness installed. All openings, doors, and windows use the same form of jack arches, with window sills made of granite. The front small clerestory window is supported by bricks laid as corbels. The entrances on both sides have semicircular arches using arch bricks, with granite keystones; the porch ceiling is finished with wooden boards. Notably, large circular cast iron pipes support the stone arch bases on the pillars. The roof structure is a Mansard truss supported by two internal columns; except for the chimney area, the roof is covered with sheet metal plates. The interior floorboards slope toward the pulpit, and the walls are finished with plaster. ◎ Travel information for experiencing the charm of Hallyu - This is the place where So-yul and Yeonhui went to see a performance by the famous singer Inanyo featured in the movie . In reality, the hall hosted various local cultural events such as Christian gatherings, lectures, concerts, and graduation ceremonies, and currently is used for religious and cultural events.
Missionary Wilson’s House is a two-story brick building that sits upon the eastern foothills of Yangnimsan Mountain. Known as the oldest surviving Western-style house in Gwangju, the house is an icon of modern culture and architecture in Korea. The house was built by an American missionary named Wilson in the 1920s (exact date unknown) and was the home of the Wilson family while they stayed in Korea. When the family completed their work in Korea, they sold the house for a very cheap price with the stipulation that the house continued to be used for missionary purposes. The house fell into the possession of the General Assembly of Chonnam Presbyterian Church of Korea in 1986 and now serves as the home office for the Presbyterian Church of Korea.
The square-shaped house consists of a living room, a family room, a kitchen, and a bathroom (1F), several bedrooms (2F), and storage areas and a boiler room (B1). The fact that the entrance of the house faces east is said to be a result of the prevailing architectural culture of Korea at that time. A Netherland-style house built with 55-milimeter thick, gray bricks, the first and second stories are delineated on the exterior with an eye-catching band of bricks.
◎ Travel information to meet Hallyu’s charm - TV series "Hymn of Death"
Here, Woo-jin (played by Lee Jong Suk), Sim-deok (played by Shin Hye-sun), and their troupe rehearsed for their play in "Hymn of Death." The Western-style building, framed by a lush forest backdrop, offers an exotic and picturesque setting.
