Promotion of Yongsan Tourist Resources for Foreign Visitors

Yongsan-gu Promotes Yongsan Tourism Resources to Foreigners

On the 8th, 14 foreigners invited to Yongsan History Museum... English guided tour conducted

Mug cup Taegukgi design drawing experience... Widely promoting Yongsan’s historical and cultural resources through participant feedback

Rebecca (Spain) is drawing the Taegeukgi at the education room on the 2nd floor of Yongsan History Museum.

Yongsan-gu (Mayor Park Hee-young) invited 14 foreigners to the Yongsan History Museum on the 8th. The purpose was to widely promote local tourism resources in celebration of the 78th Liberation Day.

The participants were foreigners using the Itaewon Global Village Center. The district informed the participants of the invitation’s purpose and requested them to post reviews on their personal SNS.

The Yongsan History Museum (35-29 Hangang-daero 14-gil) was remodeled from the Railway Hospital (a nationally registered cultural heritage site) built in 1928 and opened on March 23 last year. It is characterized by preserving the red bricks and internal traces to maximize the value of modern architecture.

Within a 5-minute walk are the headquarters of HYBE and Amorepacific, a 10-minute walk to KTX Yongsan Station, and a 20-minute walk to the National Museum of Korea and Yongsan Family Park. Operating hours are Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It consists of permanent exhibitions, special exhibitions, experience corners, an archive media wall, a donor hall of fame, a rooftop garden, and a cafeteria.

Foreign visitors to the museum first took commemorative photos in front of the stained glass in the first-floor lobby. Park Hee-young, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, served as an English docent for the day, guiding visitors through the sequence: Prologue - Gathering in Yongsan - Scattering in Yongsan - Intersection - Connecting to Yongsan - Becoming One in Yongsan - Epilogue.

Jeannie (32) from France said, “I came because I heard there was an English explanation at the Yongsan History Museum, but I was surprised that the guide was the mayor,” adding, “It was also fascinating to learn that this excellent museum used to be a railway hospital.”

After the tour, participants moved to the second-floor education room of the museum. They received explanations about Liberation Day and the Taegukgi (Korean national flag). Catherine Corteza, director of the Itaewon Global Village Center, provided on-site interpretation.

Participants chose their favorite Taegukgi design and drew it directly on a mug cup under the guidance of a ceramic experience instructor from the Yongsan Craft Center. The mug cups with the Taegukgi designs were completed by pressing them with a roller.

Rebecca (31) from Spain said, “The experience of applying the drawing onto the mug cup was impressive,” and added, “I also want to visit the Yongsan Craft Center sometime.”

Yongsan District Mayor Park Hee-young served as a docent for one day at the Yongsan History Museum's permanent exhibition.

The Yongsan Craft Center is located near Exit 3 of Hangangjin Station on Subway Line 6. It is a building with three underground floors and four above-ground floors (total floor area 2,800㎡), consisting of a craft product sales area, ceramic and hanbok experience zones, craft learning spaces and workshops, a multipurpose room, and an outdoor performance hall. Operating hours are Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Park Hee-young, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, emphasized, “Recently, following the Korean Wave trends such as K-pop and K-beauty, the number of foreign tourists has explosively increased. We will take the lead in widely promoting relatively lesser-known local tourism resources to foreigners.”