[Harumanbo Harucheonja] The Place Where the President Walked and Rested... Cheongwadae and Cheongnamdae Will Change

The Blue House and Cheongnamdae, symbols of power and retreats for the powerful, are undergoing significant changes. The Blue House is becoming more accessible to the general public on the occasion of its first anniversary of opening last year, and Cheongnamdae is doing the same as it marks its 20th anniversary of public access.

As of March 31st, management of the Blue House has shifted from the Presidential Office to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The Ministry plans to upgrade the Blue House into a living space where history, culture, and nature thrive among the people, linking it with nearby historical and cultural resources and Bukaksan Mountain to develop it into a world-class tourist landmark. The attractions will change first. Four core content areas?presidential history, cultural arts, cultural heritage, and trees?will be featured through engaging exhibitions, performances, and exploration programs. Outdoor venues such as the Grand Garden, Nokjiwon, the helipad, and Sojeongwon will host high-quality performances year-round. Planned events include a special music concert for the first anniversary, seasonal performances by the National Gugak Center, classical concerts by the National Symphony Orchestra, the K-Music Festival by Gugak Broadcasting, the K-Opera Gala by the National Opera Company, and traditional dance and gugak orchestral performances by the National Theater. Programs like and

Citizens are touring inside the Blue House. [Asia Economy DB]

On the 20th at 4 p.m., in celebration of Disability Day, a visually impaired orchestra performance will be held at the Press Hall. Previously, only a limited number of children were invited to a restricted venue, but this time, traditional ceremonies, military band performances, and diverse experiential programs will be held throughout the Grand Garden, Nokjiwon, helipad, and other areas. Programs inviting families of war veterans and independence activists are also planned for commemorative days such as the Korean War and Liberation Day. A tourism cluster declaration ceremony for the Blue House area, introducing ten tourist courses led by the MZ generation, will be held soon.

Citizens visiting the Yeongchun Festival held every spring at Cheongnamdae [Asia Economy DB]

Jongno-gu is promoting the ‘Blue House-Baegak Walking Exploration Course Landscape Improvement Project’ until the end of 2024 to develop a substantial walking tour course. The target course is approximately 1.9 km, starting from Changuimun-ro in front of the Yun Dong-ju Literature Museum, passing through the Bukaksan (Baegaksan) hiking trail, and ending at the entrance of the Blue House Press Hall. To ensure a comfortable walking experience, old fences and handrails will be carefully repaired, and street facilities will be refurbished with a unified design. To alleviate parking difficulties, Jongno-gu has been operating a parking lot with 71 spaces since April, including 56 hourly parking spaces inside the Blue House Sarangchae and 15 resident-priority parking spaces. In coordination with the Presidential Security Service, facility improvement work is underway to open additional parking lots in May: 39 spaces at the Blue House Press Gate parking lot and 19 spaces at Palpan-dong parking lot. Construction projects for the underground public parking lot (178 spaces) at the Seoul Armed Forces District Hospital (located in Samcheong-dong) and the Okindong parking lot (85 spaces) are also underway.

Cheongnamdae, the former official presidential villa, is opening the presidential bedroom in the main building (villa) as accommodation space to mark its 20th anniversary of public access on the 17th. Since opening in 2003, the presidential bedroom on the first floor of the main building has been used only as an exhibition space, but now five bedrooms will be pre-opened for overnight stays as part of an educational and experiential program lasting one night and two days. Initially, five guest bedrooms on the first floor of the main building will be opened, with plumbing and other aging facilities repaired to open a total of ten rooms including the second floor. In the second half of the year, general applicants will also be able to participate in the accommodation and educational/experiential programs. Plans are in place to thoroughly develop various educational and experiential programs unique to Cheongnamdae. To ease parking issues, additional parking spaces will be secured by converting idle spaces into parking lots (totaling 1,640 spaces), and from the end of March, the reservation system has been completely abolished so visitors can drive directly into Cheongnamdae.

Cheongnamdae Presidential Memorial Hall [Asia Economy DB]

The spring flower festival representing Cheongnamdae, ‘Yeongchun Festival,’ will be held from the 22nd to May 7th under the theme ‘Continuing the New Breeze of Culture and Arts’ (tentative) throughout the Cheongnamdae area. The Yeongchun Festival will welcome visitors with about 600 works including wildflowers and bonsai cultivated at Cheongnamdae, wooden and stone bonsai, tree bonsai, and rock pine works, as well as about 300 pieces including stone chrysanthemum flower works, sotdae (traditional Korean totem poles), and modern calligraphy, displayed around the helipad, main building, and Nakusong-gil. From the 22nd to the 28th, about 150 floral works from the Chungbuk Agricultural Research and Extension Services and wildflower works from various cities and counties will be exhibited on the second floor of the Presidential Memorial Hall’s VIP Hall. A variety of performances, events, and experiential activities will also be held. On the last weekend of the Yeongchun Festival, May 6th and 7th, the Cheongnamdae Wedding Expo will take place in the Presidential Memorial Hall area. The Cheongnamdae Jazz Tonic Festival, the premier art festival in the central region where music and art coexist, will be held for three days from May 26th to 28th at the Cheongnamdae Lakeside Square.

Cheongnamdae covers a total area of 1,844,000 square meters, with major facilities including the main building, golf course, shaded rest area, helipad, fish farm, octagonal pavilion, and thatched-roof pavilion. Before opening to the public, five presidents used it 88 times. The landscaping features 124 species of trees with about 116,000 trees and over 143 species of wildflowers totaling about 350,000 plants, which are among Cheongnamdae’s proud assets. The natural ecosystem is well preserved, with wild boars, roe deer, leopard cats, raccoons, and pheasants inhabiting the area. From April 18, 2003, to December 31, 2022, Cheongnamdae was visited by 13,500,642 people (an average of 2,254 visitors per day).