Construction of Yongsan History Museum on the Former Site of Yongsan Railroad Hospital

Yongsan-gu Holds Online Public Hearing on the 15th for Designation as a Historical and Cultural Special Zone... Video Posted on District Office YouTube for One Week... 16 Projects in 5 Major Areas 추진

Greeting from Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan District

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] “Yongsan is a living historical site at every step you take. Through the Historical and Cultural Special Zone project, we will do our best to inherit and develop the cultural heritage of our ancestors and revitalize the local commercial district through high value-added cultural projects.”

These are the words of Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan District.

Yongsan District (Mayor Seong Jang-hyun) held a “Resident Public Hearing for the Application of the (Tentative Name) Yongsan Historical and Cultural Special Zone Designation” on the 15th at the district office’s main conference room.

This was in accordance with Article 7 of the Special Act on Regulatory Exceptions for Regulatory Free Zones and Regional Specialized Development Zones (Regional Special Zone Act).

The event lasted 1 hour and 30 minutes in the order of opening, mayor’s greeting, presentation of the special zone plan (draft), introduction of the necessity for designation, discussion, and closing. Attendees included Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan District; Lee Seok, Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Industrial Relations Institute; Min Seung-hyun, Research Fellow at the Urban Space Research Office of the Seoul Institute; and Kim Gun-su, Senior Research Fellow at the Economic and Social Research Office of the Gyeonggi Research Institute.

The district minimized the number of attendees in accordance with the government’s social distancing guidelines and instead broadcast the entire event live online so that anyone could watch the video. The video will be posted on the Yongsan District Office YouTube channel for one week.

A district official said, “We minimized the number of attendees at the public hearing to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Since the video is uploaded online, we look forward to many residents’ interests and opinions.”

The deadline for submitting residents’ opinions is until 6 p.m. on the 22nd. Opinions can be sent via email to the person in charge. Related forms can be downloaded from the announcement and notice section on the district website.

The district plans to reflect the opinions received through the public hearing and the district council’s opinions in the special zone plan (draft) and submit the plan to the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the government’s competent department, around the end of this year.

The designation of the special zone will be decided within 90 days from the application date.

The Yongsan Historical and Cultural Special Zone refers to 229 parcels including 65-154 Hangangno 3-ga, covering 632,748㎡.

From 2020 to 2024, over five years, the district will invest 63.3 billion KRW (2.7 billion KRW national funds, 15.7 billion KRW city funds, 21.2 billion KRW district funds, and 23.6 billion KRW private funds) to focus on 16 projects in five major areas: ▲ Establishing an urban historical hub ▲ History and culture permeating daily life ▲ Creating a Y-Tourism Belt ▲ Discovering historical and cultural jobs ▲ Building a job platform.

Major projects include the construction and operation of the (tentative name) Yongsan History Museum, operation of the Lee Bong-chang Memorial Hall (History Resonance Hall), building a museum city brand, revitalizing the Itaewon Global Village Festival, creating themed specialized streets, operating Yongsan historical and cultural tours, running museum and embassy youth internships, supporting cultural and artistic creators, and revitalizing the Yongsan Electronics Market.

The Yongsan History Museum will be built on the site of the former Yongsan Railroad Hospital (35-29 Hangang-daero 14-gil). It will be a two-story building above ground with one basement floor, totaling 2,429㎡. The existing building will be remodeled for use as exhibition halls, storage, and educational rooms. The detailed basic exhibition plan was established last month, and currently, plans for restoration and maintenance of the Yongsan Railroad Hospital are being developed. Construction is scheduled to start next year and be completed in 2022.

The Lee Bong-chang Memorial History Resonance Hall will open next month. It is located at 286-7 Hyochang-dong, with a site area of 484.4㎡. The memorial hall is a single-story building with a total floor area of 70㎡, featuring traditional wooden architecture with a tiled roof. The interior is divided into exhibition rooms, offices, and rest areas. The surrounding site is being developed as the Lee Bong-chang Historical Park.

Additionally, the district plans to integrate, link, and support 11 existing registered museums in the area, including the National Museum of Korea and the National Hangeul Museum, to newly establish a museum city brand image. There are plans to create a museum-specialized street in the Seobinggo-ro area.

Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan District, said, “We held a public hearing to gather opinions from residents and experts regarding the promotion of the Yongsan Historical and Cultural Special Zone designation. If the district is designated as a historical and cultural special zone, it will be able to receive various regulatory exceptions under the law and generate economic added value worth up to 49 billion KRW through various specialized projects.”

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