Independence Hall

Text: On April 12 we left the house before 9:00 AM and took a bus out to Independence Hall. The museum/memorial celebrates Korea's history and struggles for independence. The main hall houses a large statue representing the indomitable spirit of the people. Behind the main hall is a circle of smaller buildings arranged in chronological order. We spent the most time in the first building, which had some fascinating artifacts. We passed through the political propaganda more quickly. The last building houses a 360-degree theater with a lovely film.

Pens: Zig Writer pink, Micron black (01)

Scissors: Fiskars Victorian

I rounded the corners of the photos and then used the Victorian scissors on the corners of the mats. The pink triangles in the middle were kind of an afterthought--I just wanted some more color to go with the cherry blossoms. Doug pointed out later that the triangles kind of mimic the shape of the pagoda towers.

The letters in the title are a negative image, cut into the strip of paper so the white background shows through from behind. I printed out the letters on the computer, traced them onto the Canson, and cut them out with a craft knife. It was really an experiment--I don't think I'll do it again. It took a long time and it was hard to keep the lines the right width. The blue "shadow" on the title bar was also an afterthought, to make it coordinate better with the other colors on the page.

Independence Hall is quite famous in Korea and is a popular site for field trips. The grounds are really beautiful.

One of the buildings has a "hall of tortures," which has wax works showing some of the things the Japanese did to the Koreans during the occupation. They have it walled off so you don't have to go through that part if you don't want to. (I didn't.)