Gwangju City Announces Ordinance on Management and Operation of Jeonil Building 245

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 12th that it is making thorough preparations for the opening of ‘Jeonil Building 245’ by enacting and promulgating the ‘Jeonil Building 245 Management and Operation Ordinance’ on the 1st.

According to the enacted ordinance, Jeonil Building is planned to allow free passage on the first-floor lobby as an extension of the May 18 Democratic Peace Plaza, and the rooftop, which offers a good view of downtown Gwangju and Mudeungsan Mountain, will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. in summer and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. in winter.

The Namdo Tourism Center, where visitors can obtain tourism information about Gwangju and nearby southern provinces, and the Digital Information Library, where DVD videos can be enjoyed on laptops and tablets, will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Other facilities such as the Citizen Gallery, Jeonil Living Culture Center, rentable small and medium conference rooms, and multipurpose auditorium will be open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Also, at Gwangju’s symbolic and historical sites, any citizen can rent and use the medium and small conference rooms, multipurpose auditorium, and Citizen Gallery by following certain procedures and paying a usage fee ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 KRW, provided the purpose is not for public harm or against public morals.

In particular, to establish Jeonil Building 245 as a core cultural facility and tourism content of Gwangju, the closing days are limited to January 1st, Lunar New Year, and Chuseok each year, preparing for visits not only by Gwangju citizens but also many tourists.

Jeonil Building 245 is symbolically recognized as the ‘Window of Truth of the May 18 Democratic Movement’ not only because its address is 245 Geumnam-ro but also because 245 bullet marks were discovered during the 2016?2017 investigation by the National Forensic Service.

Over approximately 4 years and 3 months, a total of 45.1 billion KRW was invested, including 12 billion KRW from the national government and 33.1 billion KRW from the city government, to remodel the building with one basement floor, ten above-ground floors, and a total floor area of 19,243㎡. It has been recreated as a cultural experience space to know, learn, and enjoy the essence of Gwangju; a historical and cultural space for the national and global promotion of the noble May spirit that overcame Gwangju’s pain; and a future cultural creation space for fostering an innovative growth ecosystem in Gwangju’s cultural industry.

Kim Jun-young, Director of the Cultural Tourism and Sports Office of the city, said, “The Jeonil Building remodeling project was completed with the help and cooperation of many people despite numerous twists and difficulties. We are currently conducting trial operations with diverse and rich content to welcome citizens and tourists and are accelerating final preparations for the opening. Once COVID-19 subsides, we will open it to citizens at an appropriate time and do our best to establish it as Gwangju’s future cultural creation space.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.