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Cheong Wa Dae HISTORY
The location of Cheong Wa Dae was first used as the site of a royal villa in what was then Namgyeong (the southern capital). It was built by King Sukjong (r. 1095-1105) of the Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392) in 1104, the ninth year of his reign.
In addition to the capital city of Gaeseong, the Goryeo Kingdom maintained a western capital, Seogyeong, in Pyeongyang; an eastern capital, Donggyeong, in Gyeongju; and the southern capital, Namgyeong, in Hanyang, what is now Seoul.
After the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) moved its capital to Hanyang, Gyeongbokgung was built in 1395, the fourth year of the reign of King Taejo (r. 1392-1398) as the main palace, and the royal villa lot became the back garden of the palace. It was used as the site for civil service examinations and martial arts training.
Following Japan's forced annexation of Korea in 1910, the Japanese colonialists used the Gyeongbokgung grounds for the government-general building. In 1939, Japan built an official residence/office for the governor-general on the site of Cheong Wa Dae.
With the establishment of the Republic of Korea in 1948, President Lee Seung-man called the building "Gyeongmudae", which was the name of one of the few old buildings there. He used it as his office and residence. President Yun Bo-seon changed the name to "Cheong Wa Dae" after he was inaugurated in 1960.
Presidents Park Chung-hee, Choi Kyu-ha and Chun Doo-hwan used it both as their office and official residence. While President Roh Tae-woo was in office, a new office building, official residence, and press center, called Chunchugwan, were built.
In 1993, after President Kim Yeong-sam's civilian administration was launched, the Japanese governor-general's residence/office in the Cheong Wa Dae compound was dismantled to remove a major symbol of the Japanese colonial occupation and restore the spirit of the Korean people.
Geomancers have long considered the area in which Cheong Wa Dae is located as a lucky location. This view was backed up by an inscription on a stone wall that reads: "The Most Blessed Place on Earth," found behind the official presidential residence during the construction of a new building in 1989.
To the north of Cheong Wa Dae is Mt. Bugaksan, flanked by two mountains, Naksan, symbolizing the Blue Dragon, on the left and Inwangsan, symbolizing the White Tiger, on the right. To the south is Namsan, the protective mountain of the capital and in front, clear water flows through the Cheonggyecheon stream and the Han-gang river.
At present, Cheong Wa Dae consists of the main office building, the official Presidential residence, Yeongbin-gwan or the guest house, the Chunchugwan press hall, and the secretariat buildings. Cheong Wa Dae occupies 76,685 pyeong (one pyeong equals 3.3 square meters).
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