Blue House

For other uses, see Blue House (disambiguation).

Blue House
청와대 靑瓦臺 Cheong Wa Dae
The reception center of the Blue House in August 2010.
Location in Seoul
Alternative names	Cheong Wa Dae
General information
Address	1 Cheong Wa Dae Road, Jongno District
Town or city	Seoul
Country	South Korea
Coordinates
Current tenants	Park Geun-hye (President of South Korea)
Construction started	July 22, 1989 (1989-07-22)
Completed	September 4, 1991 (1991-09-04)

Blue House
Hangul	청와대
Hanja	靑瓦臺
Revised Romanization	Cheong(-)wadae
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'ŏng'wadae

The Blue House (Korean: 청와대; Hanja: 靑瓦臺; Cheong Wa Dae; literally "pavilion of blue tiles") is the executive office and official residence of the South Korean head of state, the President of the Republic of Korea and located in the capital city of Seoul. The Blue House is in fact a complex of buildings, built largely in the traditional Korean architectural style with some modern elements.

Built upon the site of the royal garden of the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1897), the Blue House now consists of the Main Office Hall (Korean: 본관; Hanja: 本館), the Presidential Residence, the State Reception House (Korean: 영빈관; Hanja: 迎賓館), the Chunchugwan (Korean: 춘추관; Hanja: 春秋館) Press Hall, and the Secretariat Buildings. The entire complex covers approximately 250,000 square metres or 62 acres.

History

The location of Cheong Wa Dae was the site of a royal villa in what was then Hanyang, the southern capital of the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392). It was built by King Sukjong (r. 1095–1105) in 1104. Goryeo's principal capital was at Kaesŏng, and it also maintained a western capital at Pyongyang and an eastern capital at Gyeongju.

After the Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910) moved its capital to Hanyang, Gyeongbok Palace 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 military training.

Following the Empire of Japan's annexation of the Korean Empire in 1910, the Governor-General of Korea 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. It was later dismantled during Kim Young-sam's presidency in 1993.

With the establishment of the Republic of Korea in 1948, President Syngman Rhee called the building "Gyeongmudae" (Korean: 경무대; Hanja: 景武臺), 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.

In 1968, North Korean infiltrators nearly reached the building in a bid to assassinate President Park Chung-hee during the Blue House Raid. In the ensuing melee, 28 North Koreans, 26 South Koreans and four Americans were killed.

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. The main office building was opened in April 1991.

Setting

Gardens on the grounds of Cheong Wa Dae

Geomancers have long considered the area in which Cheong Wa Dae is located as an auspicious 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 1990.

To the north of hugiwawa is the mountain Bukhansan, flanked by two mountains, Naksan, symbolizing the Azure Dragon, on the left and Inwangsan, symbolizing the White Tiger, on the right. To the south is Namsan, the protective mountain of the capital. In front flow the Cheonggyecheon stream and Han River.

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  One of the buildings at the Cheongwadae Reception Center

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  Another building at the Reception Center

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  Near the entrance to the Blue House grounds

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  Monument on road in front of the Blue House, administrative building in background

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  View over the Gyeongbokgung and the Blue House at the foot of Bukaksan

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  Aerial view of the Blue House

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  Fountain in front of the Blue House

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  A bridge connecting the garden area to the Reception Center

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  View from the balcony of the visitors center

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  George W. Bush at the Blue House in February 2002.

See also

• Korean architecture
• History of South Korea
• History of Korea
• List of Korea-related topics
• National Assembly Building

External links

• Office of the President
• Blue House entry in Visit Korea