Jeonju City Opens Jeonju Pungpaejigwan (Gaksa) to the Public After 3 Years

Completion of Excavation Survey for Buried Cultural Heritage at the Southwest Site during Seokheon Seo Dismantling and Repair Works

[Jeonju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Han-ho] Jeonju City announced on the 25th that it will open to the public after completing the three-year dismantling and repair of Seoeokheon and the excavation survey of buried cultural assets at Jeonju Pungpaejigwan.

The opening hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

Jeonju Pungpaejigwan underwent a detailed safety inspection in 2016, which revealed that the pillars of Seoeokheon, an annex building, were leaning clockwise and the wooden structure was damaged. As a result, a full dismantling and repair of the pillars took place over three years from 2018 to last year.

Meanwhile, a detailed excavation survey conducted in the first half of this year on the southern and western sites of Pungpaejigwan confirmed the presence of a woldae (terrace) and stair facilities constructed in the early Joseon period.

Notably, in the earth formation layer from the Goryeo period, remains of a foundation stone building and nearby fragments of Goryeo-era roof tiles inscribed with the characters ‘Jeonju Gaksa Byeongo-nyeonjo (全州客舍 丙午年造)’ were unearthed, confirming that Jeonju Gaksa existed since the Goryeo period.

The confirmation of the existence of a Goryeo-era guesthouse is rare except for the site of Imyeonggwan in Gangneung, highlighting the cultural asset value of Jeonju Pungpaejigwan and reemphasizing the status of the thousand-year-old city of Jeonju.

Based on these excavation results, Jeonju City plans to consult with the Cultural Heritage Administration to establish future preservation and restoration plans.

Jeonju=Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Han-ho stonepeak@asiae.co.kr

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