 |
| Outside Cheong Wa Dae |
Greetings From Seoul,
I was able to take part in a Cheong Wa Dae compound tour.
Cheong Wa Dae is South Korea’s Presidential residence and executive office. The tour was an outside walking tour and did
not include the opportunity to enter any facility other than Chunchugwan, the
press hall, where the tour began. The tour included a viewing of the Nokjiwon,
the Presidential garden; Gyeongmudae, the site of the former Cheong Wa Dae
building; the Grand Garden in front of the main building; Yeongbingwan, the
State Guest House; and Chilgung, the
location of seven enshrined royal concubines’ ancestral tablets.
The outside of the Presidential compound was beautiful. Picture taking was limited for security reasons. The limiting of photos allowed me to be fully
engaged in the tour, as well as the translated
informational audio. The most
interesting part of the tour to me was the historical commentary of the
development of the current presidential compound.
The
elevation of the location now hosting the presidential compound is believed to
have begun during the Goryeo period when the city now known as Seoul became the
Southern Capital of the Goryeo Dynasty. During
the Joseon Dynasty, it became the back garden of the Gyeongbokgung Palace—the main royal palace of the Joseon Dynasty—and served as the
location for Hoemaeng, an allegiance
ritual before the spirits of heaven and earth during which merit subjects
received rewards. Gyeongbokgung Palace
was constructed in 1395 during the Joseon Dynasty and was burnt down during a
Japanese invasion in 1592. Gyeongbokgung was not reconstructed until 1867 and in
1910 was once again mostly destroyed by the Japanese colonial invasion, during
which the Japanese Governor-General’s office was erected on the site of what is
now Cheong Wa Dae.
 |
| Grand Garden |
 |
| Chilgung, Ancestral Tablets |
 |
Yeongbingwan, the State Guest House
|
 |
| Nokjiwon, Presidential Garden |
|
Beginning in 1990, the South Korean government
began an effort to restore Gyeongbokgung Palace
as well as other historical sites. This restoration included the construction of
what is now the presidential residence, Cheong Wa Dae. Before the construction of Cheong Wa Dae,
South Korea’s executives resided in the old Japanese Governor-General’s
building. This building was used until the construction of the new
Cheong Wa Dae. After completion of the
new presidential residence, the former building was torn down in a symbolic act
of severing historical ties with the Japanese occupation and with symbols of
its colonial power. While the former
building was torn down, the historical importance of its existence and
demolishment is highlighted by the inclusion of the former site, Gyeongmudae,
and the stone marker that took its place, during the official tour.
 |
| My personal translator after my audio died |
The
location of the Presidential residence, built in the back garden of the
Gyeongbokgung palace, being in such proximity
to Seoul’s preeminent historical sites, reveals a palpable effort to preserve
and infuse the historical into the current symbols of Korean national identity
and power. Like museums, preserved
historical sites serve to conserve and propagate particular and chosen
historical narratives which shape contemporary views and identities. The very reconstruction and preservation of Gyeongbokgung
Palace and other historical sites, and
the location of the newly constructed, adjacent presidential residence serve as
important markers of historical resilience and the deep-seated memory that
forms Korean identity and power structures.
 |
| Chilgung, Site of Seven Ancestral Tablets |
Sources referenced:
Verónica María Hoyer,
B.A., International Affairs 2017,
Sigur Center 2016
Korean Language Fellow,
Seoul National
University, South Korea.
