Seoul will mark the 81st anniversary of Liberation Day this Saturday with a public bell-ringing ceremony at Bosingak, the historic downtown pavilion, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday. The holiday commemorates Korea's 1945 liberation from 35 years of Japanese colonial occupation. Centered on the theme "The sound of liberation awakens the future," the event kicks off at 11:30 am in Jongno District. It features the traditional 33-bell tolling, a nod to the Joseon Dynasty custom where 33 rings at dawn signaled the lifting of the capital's nightly curfew and the opening of its eight gates. Eleven figures will take turns tolling the bell across three rounds. Joining Mayor Oh Se-hoon and the speaker of the Seoul Metropolitan Council are nine descendants of independence activists recommended by the Heritage of Korean Independence, the official public association representing Korean independence activists and their surviving descendants. Among them are the daughter of a patriot imprisoned for anti-Japanese resistance and the child of an activist who organized a covert resistance