Boseongsa Site

Boseongsa was a printing house affiliated with Cheondogyo, established in late 1910 by merging the printing offices of Changshinsa and Boseong Academy. It is also the place where 20,000 copies of the Declaration of Independence were printed for the March 1st Movement. At that time, Lee Jong-il, the president of Boseongsa, along with factory supervisor Kim Hong-gyu and general manager Jang Hyo-geun, printed the Declaration of Independence here on February 27, 1919, transported it to his home, and distributed it nationwide the next day, laying the foundation for the independence movement. Boseongsa was a two-story brick and tile building of about 30 pyeong located within the former Boseong School grounds. Under the special order of Son Byeong-hee, the leader of Cheondogyo and owner of Boseongsa, Choi Nam-seon drafted the declaration, and after receiving it signed by 33 national representatives, President Lee Jong-il, factory supervisor Kim Hong-gyu, and general manager Jang Hyo-geun printed 35,000 copies on the night of February 27, 1919. Although there was a risk of being discovered by Japanese detectives, they disguised the documents as genealogy books to evade detection. On March 1, Yoon Ik-seon, Lee Jong-rin, Lee Jong-il, and Kim Hong-gyu continued to publish 10,000 copies of the underground newspaper Joseon Independence Newspaper. The Japanese police immediately closed Boseongsa, and on the night of June 28, 1919, they set it on fire, leaving only the site to this day. Boseongsa is located within the grounds of Jogyesa Temple in Jongno-gu, and the monument and statue are in the neighborhood park across from the back gate of Jogyesa Temple.

Address: 55 Ujeongguk-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul (Gyeonji-dong)