Korean Bell of Friendship

The Korean Friendship Bell is modeled after the Divine Bell of King Seongdeok the Great of Silla (also known as the Emille Bell), The Emille Bell was cast in 771 for Bongdeok Temple and is currently housed at the National Museum of Gyeongju. Designated as National Treasure of Korea number 29 in 1962, the Emille Bell holds historical significance. It is noteworthy that the Emille Bell is the largest bell ever cast in Korean history, and both the Emille Bell and the Korean Friendship Bell are among the largest bells in the world. The bell is made of over seventeen tons of copper and tin, with gold, nickel, lead, and phosphorus added to the alloy for tone quality. It has a circumference of , diameter of , average thickness of , and a height of . 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 a Seonnyeo, or Korean spirit figure, holding the South Korean national symbol: a Taegeuk symbol, a branch of rose of Sharon, a branch of laurel, and a dove. ==History==

The bell was presented by the South Korean government to the United States to celebrate the bicentennial of the U.S. and to symbolize friendship between the two countries. 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 on May 3, 1978. The bell is struck 13 times on the first Saturday of each month at 11:30 AM. • Dec 31: New Year's Eve • Jan 13: Korean American Day • Jul 4: Fourth of July • Aug 15: Korean Liberation Day • Sep 17: Constitution Day 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. and access to the bell and the pavilion was restricted from September through December. The City of Los Angeles rededicated the Bell during a public ceremony on January 10, 2014, after the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism contributed more than to hire bell masters for the restoration. Access to the Bell was closed for more than a year following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Los Angeles, reopening in May 2021. file:Korean Friendship Bell panorama.JPG |Panorama including the belfry file:Korean FriendshipBell ArtWork.JPG |Dancheong decoration File:Koreanfriendshipbell.JPG |Belfry and plaza File:Korean Bell of Friendship in San Pedro, CA.jpg |Korean Liberation Day ceremonies (2019) file:Korean Friendship Bell Roof - Los Angeles.JPG |Roof of belfry File:Korean Bell of Frienship, San Pedro CA - 36525552234.jpg |Bell and striker File:Korean Bell of Frienship, San Pedro CA - 36525512584.jpg |Relief detail == Popular culture ==

The Korean Friendship Bell is featured in films, television shows, and video games including: • (1994) ''It's Pat'', as the location of Pat and Chris' wedding. • (1995) The Usual Suspects, as the location of the jewel exchange during the opening scenes. • (2002) Bollywood movie Kaante shows one of the characters (Andy) walking with his kid in the park, with the belfry in background. • (1998) Disney Channel movie Brink! the downhill street skating course is located on the street next to the bell. The bell can be seen in the background of scenes set at the downhill course. • (1996) American TV series Profiler features the bell and its pavilion in the season 1 episode "Unholy Alliance". • (2013) A similar pavilion is included in the "Little Seoul" area of Los Santos, a fictional recreation of Los Angeles for the game Grand Theft Auto V. • (2015) Lana Del Rey used this location to film the music video for the song "Music to Watch Boys To" as has the South Korean rapper Zico. • (1994) VR Troopers portrays the bell as the place where Ryan Steele usually goes to reflect where he was trained by his father to do martial arts when he was a little kid. It was also filmed during Ryan's monologues in the beginning and end of each episode. ==See also==