The Naju Citizens' Rights Committee in Jeollanam-do has made a final recommendation to Naju City to dismantle the Goguryeo Palace drama set located within the Naju Film Theme Park.
The Citizens' Rights Committee announced on the 17th that it reviewed and approved a policy recommendation focusing on the 'dismantling' of the Goguryeo Palace set during its 2nd regular meeting held the previous day in the large conference room of the city hall, and submitted the recommendation to Naju City.
On the 16th, the Naju Citizens' Rights Committee held its 2nd regular meeting and deliberated and approved a policy recommendation regarding the preservation and controversy of the Goguryeo Palace drama set within the Naju Film Theme Park. [Photo by Naju City]
The meeting was held with 16 of the 25 registered committee members in attendance.
The members re-examined the progress of the controversy over whether to preserve or dismantle the Goguryeo Palace set, key issues, the citizen briefing session, and the results of the expert field discussion, and after deliberation among the members, they derived the final policy recommendation.
Earlier, starting with an executive meeting to review the agenda in January, the committee hosted a citizen forum on March 14, where expert presentations and Q&A sessions were held to comprehensively gather opinions from both sides regarding preservation and dismantling.
On April 2, five structural architecture experts were invited to the site to inspect the Goguryeo Palace set and engage in mutual discussions, deeply examining structural safety, economic feasibility, and usability in the cases of preservation or dismantling.
During the discussion, most experts agreed that the Goguryeo Palace set was constructed for drama filming purposes and that to use it as a museum or other exhibition or assembly facility, comprehensive improvements such as seismic reinforcement according to current structural design standards would be necessary.
They particularly pointed out that the set's building structure, consisting of an upper wooden structure placed on a lower steel frame, was designed without consideration for seismic loads, making it highly vulnerable to earthquake safety.
Additionally, they expressed the view that repairing and reinforcing the set would cost an estimated 28.9 billion KRW according to service results, which would be more expensive than new construction, and that even if preserved, the set would have almost no value as a drama filming location in terms of usability.
After several discussions and debates to derive the policy recommendation, the Citizens' Rights Committee agreed on the dismantling of the Goguryeo Palace set, the site planned for the second phase of the Namdo Uibyung History Museum construction and Uibyung History Park development project, to facilitate smooth progress.
Furthermore, the committee additionally recommended that Naju City promptly promote a joint research project with Jeollanam-do on the utilization plan for the second phase project site to create a tourism synergy effect along with the Uibyung History Museum.
Chairman Choi Young-tae stated, “We will continue to listen carefully and consider even minority opinions on public conflict issues to derive amicable solutions,” and added, “I hope that the Citizens' Rights Committee's first policy recommendation will serve as a catalyst to activate the culture of discussion and deliberation in the Naju community.”
Meanwhile, the Namdo Uibyung History Museum, to be built in the Naju Film Theme Park area in Gongsan-myeon, Naju City, is a campaign project of the 8th Jeollanam-do administration aimed at honoring the patriotic spirit of the Namdo Uibyung and inheriting their legacy.
The site for the museum project was confirmed as the top priority by Jeollanam-do in a public contest in July 2020.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the Namdo Uibyung History Museum is scheduled for May 2. The museum will be constructed by the end of 2025 on a 22,396㎡ site in the Singok-ri and Baeksa-ri areas, with a total floor area of 6,993㎡, consisting of one above-ground floor and one basement floor.
Naju = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yuk-bong baekok@asiae.co.kr
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