The former residence in Donggyo-dong, Mapo District, Seoul, where the late former President Kim Dae-jung lived, has been designated a national heritage.
The Korea Heritage Service said on Dec. 16 that it held a Cultural Heritage Committee meeting and decided to register the "Kim Dae-jung House in Donggyo-dong, Seoul" as a nationally registered cultural heritage. After completing administrative procedures at the end of this month, the government will publish the registration in the official gazette.
Kim began living there in 1963. In 2002, in preparation for retirement, the existing building was demolished, and a residence wing and a security wing were newly built in its place, which are the current buildings. Except for periods when Kim was in exile in the United States, studying in the United Kingdom, and living in Ilsan for a little over two years, he lived there until his death in 2009.
The Korea Heritage Service said, "The Kim Dae-jung house is a symbolic space of the democratization movement that is extremely important in the modern and contemporary history of Korea, both historically and politically," adding, "It has the characteristic of coexisting public, private, and security functions."
To preserve its value as cultural heritage, the Korea Heritage Service obtained the owner's consent and decided to designate the second-floor living space of the residence, the nameplate, and the main gate as "essential preservation elements."
The second-floor living space retains well the late president's daily life, including his study and bedroom. The nameplate and main gate bear the names of former President Kim Dae-jung and his wife, Lee Hui-ho, together, and are considered symbols that reveal the president's long-held philosophy on advancing the status of women.
The Korea Heritage Service plans to preserve, manage, and utilize the house together with the competent local government and the owner going forward.