[7] In the park is a blue pillar rising from a small lake, symbolizing the communication between people and the source of life: water.

A 2007 paper called for new building restrictions, criticizing nearby tall and noisy structures such as restaurants, a golf practice facility, Sookmyung Women's University, and the stadium lights.

On the barrier wall beneath the graves, the text "遺芳百世" (유방백세) is written, which can be translated as "[They] paved a path of beauty for future generations".

Jeongjo reportedly visited the eventual location of the tomb thrice, then decided that he was pleased with the sunny hill, forest, and view of the Han River at the site.

[8] The crown prince's mother, Royal Noble Consort Uibin Seong, died five months later and was buried in a tomb close by.

[23] It was a 2,322-yard,[25] nine-hole golf course designed by a British person named H. E. Daunt and operated by the nearby Chōsen Hotel [ko].

[26][27] Author Oh Sang-jun gave this excerpt from Daunt's writings on the course:[28][g] In May 1919, I had the opportunity to visit Keijō for the first time at the invitation of the South Manchuria Railway company...

We put a lot of thought into how to make it a great course.The last Crown Prince of Korea Yi Un played at the course,[8] although a significant majority of the players were Japanese or foreign.

In 1924, the Japanese colonial government acquired usage rights to the land from the Office of the Yi Dynasty for free over a period of 15 years.

[20][8] There are various attestations to sporting competitions, tree planting events, and outdoor film screenings in the area in the late 1930s.

[36][25] After their relocation, the tombs of the royal consort and the crown prince were placed more than 100 paces from each other (2 km), which violated the wishes of King Jeongjo.

[36][9] In an article for The Hankyoreh, Noh Hyeong-seok described the memorial as hypocritical, given Japan's wars to colonize Korea, and described the tomb transfers as "atrocities".

[8] A 2021 paper by Hyun-Chul Youn and Seong-Lyong Ryoo argued that it is not known with certainty whether the Japanese were responsible for moving the graves, as relevant records from this period are lost.

[36] Hong So-yeon (홍소연), director of the Simsan Kim Chang-sook Memorial Hall, evaluated their motivation:[8][h] The choice to use the area where Japan forcefully requisitioned and dominated Korean royal tombs as a memorial location for independence activists was highly symbolic.

Of course they chose this spot.On July 9, 1946, a national funeral was held for the reinterment of the remains of Lee Bong-chang, Baek Jeong-gi, and Yun Bong-gil in the park.

[8][38] In May 1956,[36] Rhee and the Seoul city government began an effort to move the graves of the independence activists elsewhere, and construct a stadium and circuit roadway in the area instead.

He composed a poem that was then published in The Dong-A Ilbo entitled "Weeping Over Hyochang Park" (효창공원을 통곡함).

After Seoul was selected to host the 1970 Asian Games in June 1959, the estate of Kim Ku allowed for the stadium and roadway to be constructed nearby without the relocation of the graves.

[13][8][39] By the 1960s, amidst the heavy redevelopment in the area, the park had significantly fewer trees and the graves were not well-connected by paths.

[41] In 1962, that administration attempted to move the graves to the Seooreung Royal Tombs [ko], but this was blocked by citizen protest.

A monument for anti-communists who fought against North Korea (북한 반공투사 위령탑) was also constructed in 1969, and still stands today.

[38] Beginning with the Chun Doo-hwan administration in the 1980s, the identity of the park was moved back towards that of a cemetery and historical site.

Beginning in that year, the organization has held an annual memorial ceremony for independence activists on April 13, the anniversary of the establishment of the KPG.

Around that time, the democratization movement in South Korea resulted in a rise in nationalism and renewed interest in the KPG.

[45] The Roh Moo-hyun administration (2003–2008) continued sanctification efforts, ordering the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs to "fully restore the historical significance" of the park in March 2005.

[46] The ministry, in turn, announced a 30 billion won plan to demolish the stadium and use the land to construct a square and cultural facility in 2005 March.

However, after receiving pushback from the Seoul Metropolitan Government and a soccer association, the architectural design plan released a year later instead proposed to renovate the stadium to fit international standards and build other auxillary facilities.

They were worried about potential negative impact on local real estate prices and access to the park; other national cemeteries at the time were only open from 6am to 6pm.

[13][9] In 2018, The Hankyoreh interviewed the leader of an organization called "People Who Love Hyochangwon" (효창원을 사랑하는 사람들) that advocates for its greater emphasis as a memorial.

As the park is a protected historical site, they conducted written interviews with experts in history, architecture, and feng shui between October and December 2020.