While volunteering at the Point Fermin Lighthouse , I would often visit the Korean Peace Bell overlooking the Lighthouse.  Engraved on the bell are four pairs of figures, each pair consisting of the Goddess of Liberty holding a torch and a Korean spirit. Each of the Korean spirits holds up a different symbol including a symbolic design of the Korean flag, a branch of the rose of Sharon, Korea’s national flower; a branch of laurel, symbol of victory and a dove of peace.

The bell is set in a pagoda-like stone structure and the pavilion is supported by twelve columns representing the twelve designs of the Oriental zodiac.  Animals stand guard at the base of each column.

Beginning in 2010, the bell is struck five times a year: on New Year’s Eve, Korean American Day (January 13), the national independence day of the United States (Fourth of July) and Korean Liberation Day (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 has no clapper but is struck from the outside with a wooden log.

Resting peacefully on the knoll overlooking the sea, the site offers an expansive view of the Los Angeles harbor, the Catalina Channel and the sea terraces of San Pedro hill.

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