On May 10th, Yoon Suk Yeol was inaugurated as President and Cheongwadae was in a display of National Arms because we're now in the Yongsan era. Cheongwadae was the Presidential residence, located at the foot of Mountain Bukak, behind Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul. However, now, the Presidential office was relocated to the former Defense Ministry building in Yongsan. Therefore, Cheongwadae will be operated as a meaningful place, where it displays the National Arms and people can watch freely. With the relaxation of COVID-19 Distancing, many people continue to go to see Cheongwadae, because it was opened for viewing.

Cheongwadae has opened for the first time in 74 years and many people are focusing on their attention on Cheongwadae. The opening of Cheongwadae was held with a celebration performance at 11 am on May 10th. Also, 74 people selected as representatives of the people following the march, passed through the Sinmumun Gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace. When the delegation entered Cheongwadae in line with the signal of the opening, general visitors also entered Cheongwadae, and began to open the event. Inside Cheongwadae, we can see the main building of the Blue House, the guesthouse, and the Sangchunjae. We can also look around the Yeo Min-gwan and the Presidential residence, which were used as working spaces for the Presidential Secretary's office. We can enter and walk around freely. However, since the interior maintenance has not been completed, we cannot enter the building as of yet, and we can only see it while looking around from the outside. What is the purpose of opening up Cheongwadae to the public which had only just been announced?

Cheongwadae relocation TF (Task Force) said that all the people wanted to reorganize the Blue House, which was a "closed space," and return it to the people's arms. It was completely opened through the relocation of the Presidential Office, not the partial opening of Cheongwadae. Cheongwadae's main building, Nokjiwon, and other hiking trails are organically linked to create a shelter, a historical and a cultural park, that the people want to visit. It is also an axis that penetrates Joseon and modern history, as it aims to provide an opportunity to leap forward as a future heritage.

Like this, the time to visit Cheongwadae, which has come to the arms of the people, is from 7 a.m to 7 p.m. Admission is free for viewing, and it is operated on a temporary reservation system in preparation for a large crowd. It was scheduled to limit the number of daily visitors to about 39,000 six times a day and 6,500 every two hours. However, since the opening of Cheongwadae, the number of visitors per day has been around 40,000. This is a 25 times increase from the 1,600 expected amount before the opening. Therefore, the Seoul Metropolitan Government predicted that the number of nearby visitors will increase, if the interior of the Blue House is opened further, and said it will promote, "car-free streets," in Cheongwadae and Inwangsan-ro to enhance the convenience of citizens. From Saturday, May 28th to Sunday, June 29th a total of 12 times on weekends and holidays, the 500m section from Yeongbinmun to Chunchumun will be piloted as a, “car-free street.” In addition, the Seoul Tourism Foundation is actively supporting citizens for convenient viewing by extending the operation period of the Cheongwadae free circulation bus, which was scheduled to operate from May 10th to 22nd, to June 11th. At the beginning of the opening, the number of admission is allocated by receiving separate applications for senior citizens aged 65 or older, the disabled, and visitors arriving in groups. Applications for viewing are also available through Naver, Kakao, and Toss, a mobile app with high public access, from 10 am on Wednesday, April 27.

Perhaps because of the large crowd's interest, discussions are continuing to review the opening of Cheongwadae like Gyeongbokgung Palace. We will have to wait and see how the Blue House will be settled in the future, and it would be good for students to visit the Blue House, which is steeped in history.

By Park Seong-eun, cub-reporter

▲Cheongwadae (Source: Seoul newspaper)

By Park Seong-eun,cub-reporter  pseun1017@naver.com

<저작권자 © The Campus Journal, 무단 전재 및 재배포 금지>