Gyeongbokgung palace's backyard goes under investigation for historical and cultural values

연합뉴스 / 2022-07-18 10:19:00

▲ This photo, shows the view of Seoul along with the main building of Cheong Wa Dae. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, July 18 (Yonhap) -- With the opening of Cheong Wa Dae, the interest in the Gyeongbukgung Palace area has grown, and basic research is being conducted to understand the historical and cultural value of the site.

According to the cultural heritage industry on Monday, the Cultural Heritage Administration Royal Palaces and Tombs Center placed an order for the "Basic Investigation Research Service for Gyeongbokgung Palace Backyard" last month to review the preservation, management and utilization of the backyard of Gyeongbokgung Palace.

The academia believes that this research on the backyard of Gyeongbokgung Palace, which was conducted for the first time after the relocation of the presidential office to Yongsan and the opening of Cheong Wa Dae, could be used as a reference material for planning future preservation, utilization, and management of Cheong Wa Dae.

"Although there was a study that investigated the backyard of Gyeongbokgung Palace along with Gyeongbokgung Palace in the 2000s, Cheong Wa Dae was not considered. As much as it has changed after Cheong Wa Dae was opened to the public, this will be kept it mind for the investigation," said an official from the Cultural Heritage Administration.

According to the data uploaded at Korea On-line E-Procurement System, the main goal of this study is to investigate and analyze various facilities, landscapes, and cultural heritages around the backyard of Gyeongbokgung Palace.

The Cultural Heritage Administration suggested ▲ analysis of the status of Gyeongbokgung Palace's backyard area ▲ historical review of the Gyeongbokgung palace backyard area ▲ detailed index survey and database (DB) establishment ▲ cultural property value survey and analysis.

It was confirmed that one society from the Korea Association for Architectural History participated in the decision for research areas.

The Cultural Heritage Administration evaluated the research service proposal submitted by the society on July 14 and was "qualified." Currently, it is under review and the research service is said to be carried out for 4 months.

According to the academia, the Cheong Wa Dae area, where Namgyeongigung was said to have existed during the Goryeo Dynasty, was used as the backyard of Gyeongbokgung Palace during the Joseon Dynasty.

In particular, King Gojong, who reconstructed Gyeongbokgung Palace in the 1860s, wanted to make the Cheong Wa Dae area a place with a function similar to that of Changdeokgung Palace. However, it is said that buildings like Yungmudang were built in the area and was where exams for material arts took place.

"Based on the survey results, we will be able to do basic work on the Cheong Wa Dae area to see how far we can look from the perspective of cultural assets and from the point of view of utilization," an academia official said.

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Haemin Kim.)

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