[Yongsan Report] The Most Expensive Item Among Cheongwadae's Collection... A Rarely Seen Work

Cultural Event Marking 2nd Anniversary of Cheongwadae Opening
Total Visitors Reach 5,567,862

The media art masterpiece "Video Sanjo" by the media art master Nam June Paik, an installation of 83 TVs, hanging on the wall of the stairs at the Blue House Chunchoogwan.

"This is truly a rare sight. Since it's a precious opportunity, please take it all in with your eyes."

On the 14th, marking the 2nd anniversary of the Blue House opening, a Blue House Foundation official spoke with a nostalgic tone to reporters visiting the 'Children Drawing Hope: Ukrainian Children's Art Exhibition' held on the 2nd floor of the Blue House Press Hall. This piece, hanging on the stairwell wall connecting the 1st and 2nd floors of the Press Hall?used as the Blue House press conference venue and media coverage headquarters?is the media art master Nam June Paik's installation of 83 TVs titled 'Video Sanjo (散調)'. The 'Video Sanjo,' which visualizes the flow of traditional Sanjo music using 83 twelve-inch TVs, is estimated to be the most valuable item in the Blue House collection and was donated when the Press Hall was completed in 1990.

Gu Ja-kyung, Customer Cooperation Team Leader at the Blue House Foundation, said with a smile, "Since it is a large-scale work, it is estimated to be worth tens of billions of won, but the exact amount is unknown. The artwork is old and highly valuable for preservation, so it is usually not turned on to prevent electricity waste."

The Ukrainian Children's Art Exhibition at the Press Hall will be held until the 3rd of next month. The exhibition was organized following President Yoon Suk-yeol and the First Lady's visit to Ukraine in July last year, where they saw local children's drawings at the Kyiv Children's Rights Center. The Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, Policy, and Information proposed the exhibition, which showcases about 150 drawings depicting the daily lives and hopes of Ukrainian children who have experienced war with Russia.

'Tongyeong Port' by artist Jeon Hyuk-rim, hanging on the wall of the Inwang Room at the Blue House

On the wall of the Inwang Room, formerly used as a small banquet hall in the Blue House main building, a painting capturing a cool blue sea landscape captivates visitors' attention. The large-scale work 'Tongyeong Port' by artist Jeon Hyuk-rim, measuring 2.8 meters in height and 7 meters in width, is famous for an anecdote where former President Roh Moo-hyun visited the exhibition hall unannounced and purchased it himself. This painting disappeared after President Roh's passing in 2009 and the artist's death in 2010 but was rehung in the Inwang Room in 2017 following President Moon Jae-in's election.

The painting installed on the central staircase of the Blue House main building is 'Geumsugangsan-do' by artist Kim Sik. The Blue House main building was constructed during the Roh Tae-woo administration, and the 'Geumsugangsan-do,' a map of the Korean Peninsula, was hung when the main building was completed in 1991. At that time, President Roh personally purchased and ordered the installation of the painting. It is said that while the painting appears small when viewed from below, it looks larger as one ascends the stairs, symbolizing the difficulties of governance.

Meanwhile, according to the Blue House Foundation, the cumulative number of visitors to the Blue House reached 5,567,862 as of the day before. The Blue House was opened to the public on May 10, 2022, and surpassed 5 million cumulative visitors on Lunar New Year's Day, February 10, this year.

'Geumsugangsan-do' by Kim Sik installed on the central staircase of the Blue House main building