Overview
Baekbeom Square is located halfway up a mountain in Namsan Park, Hoehyeon-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul. Within the park stands the statue of Baekbeom Kim Gu, an independence activist, educator, and politician. The Baekbeom Kim Gu Memorial Project Association was established in August 1969 inside Baekbeom Square to honor Kim Gu's patriotic spirit in the anti-Japanese salvation movement and the establishment of a unified nation. Two months after the teacher's assassination, the Kim Gu Teacher Statue Construction Promotion Committee was established, and discussions on the statue's construction began. The location was chosen as Namsan Park, which was the site of the Joseon Shrine during the Japanese colonial period. The statue is based on a plaster bust made during his lifetime with donations sent from various sectors at home and abroad, and sculptors Kim Kyung-seung and Min Bok-jin sculpted it to a height of 10 meters. Under the leadership of the Baekbeom Kim Gu Memorial Association, which was formed in 1960, a groundbreaking ceremony for the statue was held on April 8, 1969, and the unveiling ceremony was held on August 23, the day of his birth. In front of the statue, a wide lawn has been created, and a path leads up to Namsan. In addition, within the park, there is an equestrian statue of General Kim Yu-shin, who unified the Three Kingdoms, and a statue of Lee Si-young.