Korean Bell of Friendship

The Korean Bell of Friendship is a massive bronze bell housed in a stone pavilion in Angel's Gate Park, in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Located at the corner of Gaffey and 37th Streets, the section of the park is alternatively called the "Korean-American Peace Park," and occupies part of the former Upper Reservation of Fort MacArthur.

The bell was presented by the Republic of Korea to the American people to celebrate the bicentennial of the United States, to honor American veterans of the Korean War, and to symbolize friendship between the two nations. The effort was coordinated by Philip Ahn, a Korean-American actor. It was dedicated on October 3, 1976 and declared Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument No. 187 in 1978.

It is modeled after the Divine Bell of King Seongdeok the Great of Silla (also known as the Emille Bell), cast in 771 for Bongdeok Temple and now located at the National Museum of Gyeongju; both are among the largest bells in the world. The bell is made of over 7 tons of copper and tin, with gold, nickel, lead, and phosphorus added to the alloy for tone quality. It has a diameter of 7½ feet, average thickness of 8 inches, and a height of 12 feet. The exterior surface is richly decorated in relief, featuring four pairs of figures. Each pair includes a "Goddess of Liberty" (bearing some resemblance to the Statue of Liberty) and an "apsarasa" or Korean spirit figure holding a Korean national symbol: a Yin Yang symbol, a branch of rose of Sharon, a branch of laurel, and a dove.

The bell is struck four times a year: on New Year's Eve, the national independence days of the United States (Fourth of July) and South Korea (August 15) and every September in celebration of Constitution Week. It was also rung on September 11, 2002 to commemorate the first anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The bell does not have a clapper; instead, it is sounded by striking it with a large wooden log.

The pavilion which houses the bell was built by Korean craftsmen over a period of ten months. Its design is traditional. It is symmetric, consisting of a peaked, gabled roof supported by twelve columns representing the Chinese zodiac, each column guarded by a carved animal.

The Korean Bell of Friendship was featured in the movie "The Usual Suspects".

ee also

* List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in the Harbor area

External links

* [http://www.belloffriendship.org koreanfriendshipbell.org] ,
* SanPedro.com: [http://www.sanpedro.net/panoramas/korean_bell.htm Korean Bell of Friendship and Bell Pavilion] , panoramic photograph and facts
* "Stars and Stripes" [http://www.stripes.com/photoday/101004photoday.html Photo of the day for October 10, 2004] , black and white photograph of U.S. and South Korean officials ringing the bell in Seoul on June 29, 1976