The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 12th that it will hold a seminar titled 'History and Architecture Stories of Yongsan Park with Walking Tours' at the Peace and Park Convention site in the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the 13th.
According to the ministry, this seminar is organized to reflect on the historical significance of Yongsan, a space that has long served as a military strategic point, marking the 80th anniversary of liberation, and to gather various opinions from experts and the public on the planning and utilization of terrain and facilities to create a national park.
The event will begin with a walking tour, followed by expert presentations on the history, paths, and architecture of Yongsan Park, citizen experience presentations, and a comprehensive discussion. First, the walking tour will be conducted with citizens selected through a lottery from among those who applied in advance, walking through the eastern return site of the War Memorial of Korea (the unreleased area) while sharing the historical characteristics and hidden stories of past buildings.
Shin Joo-baek, a research fellow and former director of the Korean Independence Movement Research Institute at the Independence Hall, will be the first presenter of the seminar. He will explain the historical stories of Yongsan Park, a space that encapsulates the pains of colonialism and division as we mark the 80th anniversary of liberation, and propose development directions from a historical perspective.
Next, Professor Kim Jong-hun of Pyeongtaek University will analyze how the natural topography of Yongsan Park has changed through historical verification and will propose pathways in Yongsan Park that connect the past and the future through the restoration of old trails.
Choi Ho-jin, the director of the Geumjeong Urban Research Institute, will introduce important facilities within the U.S. military base that he has been investigating since 2020 and share related stories. He will also present ways to effectively store and manage records related to these facilities.
The comprehensive discussion will be chaired by Kim Hong-ryeol, chairman of the Yongsan National Park Forum, who will join the presenters to examine the current status and significance of historical buildings in Yongsan Park and share a wide range of opinions on utilization plans.
Jeong Woo-jin, head of the Yongsan Park Development Promotion Planning Team at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, who will attend the seminar, noted, "Yongsan Park is a space that everyone is creating together," and added, "We will strive to gather the various suggestions made in this seminar to ensure that Yongsan Park can become a space for healing and recovery that connects our history and future, nature, and the city."