'Joseon Dynasty Waterway and Relics' Discovered During Gwanghwamun Square Construction... "To Be Opened to Public After Excavation Completion"

6 of 9 Excavation Stages Completed... Joseon Dynasty Waterways, Seokryeol, and Related Cultural Heritage Confirmed

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 19th that it plans to excavate and publicly display cultural relics uncovered during the restructuring construction of Gwanghwamun Square. During this construction, Seoul discovered relics including a Joseon Dynasty stone waterway, remains of the Three Military Offices (Samgunbu), the Office of the Inspector General (Saheonbu), the Ministry of War (Byeongjo), the Ministry of Public Works (Gongjo), as well as Joseon-era porcelain shards and roof tile fragments.

Since January 2019, Seoul has been conducting cultural heritage excavation surveys, including trial excavations and detailed excavations, for over two years. Prior to the new Gwanghwamun Square development project, to protect cultural assets, the city obtained a buried cultural heritage excavation permit from the Cultural Heritage Administration on January 7, 2019, and began excavation surveys. From March to November 2019, over approximately eight months, 71 trial trenches (2m×10m) were installed across the project area (84,321㎡) to conduct trial excavations of buried cultural relics.

Based on the trial excavation results and project plans, and following review by the Cultural Heritage Committee, Seoul obtained a permit to modify the excavation from the Cultural Heritage Administration. Since October 2020, a six-month detailed excavation has been underway in the entire facility installation area within the project zone (approximately 14,600㎡), continuing until April. The excavation phases are divided into stages 1 to 3 on the western sidewalk of Gwanghwamun Square, stages 4 to 6 on the remaining western sidewalk, and stages 7 to 9 on the western roadway of Gwanghwamun Square, with stages 7 to 9 currently in progress.

The uncovered relics will be made accessible to citizens both online and offline. Due to COVID-19 making large-scale exhibitions difficult, explanatory videos about the relics will be produced and released to the public upon completion of the excavation.

On the 30th, Seoul plans to open the site to citizens wishing to visit, providing explanations from history experts and gathering opinions on preservation directions. Once excavation is complete, the relics will be preserved following a preservation plan developed by incorporating feedback from citizens and history experts, and legal procedures (cultural heritage review) will be conducted to ensure preservation measures.

The specific preservation plan will be prepared reflecting the opinions of history experts regarding the depth and significance of the relics, and the preservation review related to the cultural heritage excavation is scheduled to be held on April 21 at the Buried Cultural Heritage Subcommittee of the Cultural Heritage Administration's Cultural Heritage Review Committee.

Jung Sang-taek, head of the Gwanghwamun Square Promotion Team, stated, “The cultural relics excavated at Gwanghwamun Square are cultural heritage that must be treasured, and we will establish and manage a thorough preservation plan.”

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