Remains Discovered at Construction Site of Silla Hanok Hotel

Discovery During Test Excavation of Hanok Hotel Site
Hotel Shilla States "Earlier Artifacts, Decision to Preserve Records"
Concerns Over Project Cancellation Reduced

Hotel Shilla Traditional Hotel Rendering

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] As Hotel Shilla's decade-long cherished project of a traditional Hanok hotel has just broken ground, relics were discovered, making it inevitable to change the original construction schedule. According to the cultural heritage value investigation results, revising the future project plan is expected to be unavoidable.

On the 28th, according to related industries, last month during a trial excavation on the Hanok hotel site within Shilla Hotel in Jangchung-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, a large number of relics (remains of buildings) were found near the 108 steps in front of the guesthouse.

After Hotel Shilla reported the discovery to the Cultural Heritage Administration, the agency initiated a detailed excavation investigation. It may take several months until the final investigation results are available. Since the construction period was somewhat delayed due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), concerns about further schedule delays have increased.

However, Hotel Shilla firmly denies the possibility of the Hanok hotel project being abandoned. Earlier, Hotel Shilla obtained permission from Jung-gu Office on the 17th and started construction on the 22nd. Before the main construction, they had been carrying out preliminary infrastructure work around the Hanok hotel, such as road maintenance. If no relics had been found, they would have proceeded to the next step of building foundation work.

A Hotel Shilla representative said, "Since construction began with permission from Jung-gu Office, the hotel construction itself has not been canceled," adding, "The relics discovered earlier this year before the main construction will be preserved through the Cultural Heritage Administration's investigation, and there will be no disruption to the construction."

Therefore, the key will be the judgment of the Cultural Heritage Administration. When artifacts are found at construction sites, the criteria for assessing their value rest solely with the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Cultural Heritage Committee. The committee is an institution that investigates and deliberates on matters related to the preservation, management, and utilization of cultural heritage. Although there are various precedents, it is impossible to uniformly compare or estimate them.

The Hanok hotel construction project has been a long-cherished plan pursued by Hotel Shilla since 2010. The project was first submitted to the Seoul Metropolitan Government in 2011 but faced many twists and turns before passing the final hurdle. This is because the area around the Hanyangdoseong Fortress is a mix of natural scenic zones and historical cultural aesthetic zones, where regulations make it difficult to build new or extend existing buildings as a protective measure. Tourist accommodation facilities such as hotels were subject to the same restrictions. However, in 2011, through an amendment to the Seoul city urban planning ordinance, Korean traditional hotels were exceptionally allowed to proceed, giving momentum to Hotel Shilla's project. During discussions with Seoul city, the originally planned four-story Hanok hotel was revised to two stories.

According to Hotel Shilla's construction plan, the Hanok hotel will have 42 rooms, all designed as suites, making it a luxury hotel. Instead of constructing a single three-story Western-style building, it is designed as multiple Hanok buildings arranged in a stepped form. The total investment amount is approximately 300 billion KRW. Hotel Shilla expects that upon completion around 2025, the project will create employment for about 1,000 people.

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