Seoul City Officially Opens Namsan Yejang Park... 'Namsan Renaissance' Completed After 12 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Onyu Lim] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it held the opening ceremony of ‘Namsan Yejang Park’ and the inauguration ceremony of the ‘Lee Hoe-young Memorial Hall’ at 2 p.m. on the 9th.

At the opening ceremony, Mayor Oh Se-hoon presented a ‘certificate of donation’ to Lee Jong-geol, the representative standing chairman of the National Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, on behalf of the descendants who donated relics to the ‘Lee Hoe-young Memorial Hall.’ Mayor Oh also received weapons (guns) of the Czech Legion to be exhibited at the opening commemorative exhibition from Gustav Slamecka, the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Korea. These are the same types of weapons used in the Battles of Bongodong and Cheongsanri, which Seoul City borrowed free of charge from the Czech Legion community for display.

Namsan Yejang Park is largely composed of ▲‘above ground’ green park and an entrance plaza connecting Myeongdong to Namsan by foot ▲and ‘underground’ facilities beneath the park such as the Lee Hoe-young Memorial Hall and an eco-friendly bus transfer center.

An escalator has been installed at the entrance plaza of Namsan Yejang Park, allowing easy access from Myeongdong to the park. Before the park was created, visitors had to go up an underpass or crosswalk and then climb a sloped road to get from Myeongdong to Namsan, which was inconvenient.

The above-ground green park has restored abundant greenery by planting various trees, including a pine tree colony, which is a native species of Namsan, 1,642 large trees of 18 species, and 62,033 shrubs of 31 species including evergreen shrubs. Various walking courses have also been created, allowing visitors to relax amid the greenery.

The Lee Hoe-young Memorial Hall, located in the underground space beneath the park, hosts a permanent exhibition titled . It displays 42 relics donated by descendants and others.

Exhibited items include Lee Hoe-young’s ink orchid paintings and seals, envelopes with handwritten letters sent under pseudonyms, photos and biographies of instructors and students of the Shinheung Military Academy, and the handwritten genealogical record of the Gyeongju Lee clan. The handwritten manuscript of ‘Seogando Sijonggi,’ a record of the anti-Japanese independence movement left by Lee Hoe-young’s wife Lee Eun-sook, is also on display.

Seoul City will hold a special exhibition of Czech weapons commemorating the immortal victory of the independence army’s allied forces in the Battles of Bongodong and Cheongsanri as a special opening exhibition. After years of preparation, Seoul City explained that it borrowed 28 items free of charge from the Czech Legion community, including weapons (rifles, pistols, etc.) used at the time, maps, and military uniforms, to be exhibited.

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