A ceremony is under way at a former anti-communism investigation division office of the police in Namyeong-dong, central Seoul, on Dec. 26, 2018, to celebrate its planned transformation into a memorial hall of democracy and human rights. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korean National Police Agency (KNPA) plans to create a list of individuals and locations meaningful to understand its history, as part of a new education program for recruits.
The National Police Agency said on Sunday that it has selected 80 individuals and 201 sites related to the history of the KNPA in commemoration of the 100th year of the March 1 Independence Movement and the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
Selected historical locations include national cemeteries and memorial halls, while selected individuals include police officers in the days of the provisional government, veterans of the Korean War, and others who sacrificed their lives to protect citizens.
The KNPA plans to send new officers on a tour to visit local historical sites to educate them on the spirit of being a police officer.
The agency will also create a ‘pilgrim’s route’ that will connect the eight most famous locations in Seoul related to the history of the South Korean police for educational purposes.
The course will begin from Seoul National Cemetery, go past the Kim Koo Museum, the Democracy and Human Rights Memorial Hall, the site of a bombing incident led by Na Seok-ju, the late independence fighter and a police officer, Jahamun Hill, where police officers bravely fought with North Korean spies in 1968, the April 19 Memorial Hall that remembers the atrocities committed by police officers during the April 19 Revolution, the Police Museum, all the way to the Police Memorial Park, located across from the headquarters of the National Police Agency.
“We have picked the most representative locations that can help us understand the three values of democracy, human rights, and security that form the foundation of the National Police Agency since the days of the provisional government,” said a source from the KNPA.
“We will include the ‘pilgrim’s route’ into our curriculum and make it mandatory for all of our new police officers to visit these locations.”
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
