[On-site Video] A Glimpse of the Presidential Office... Visiting Yongsan Park

[Asia Economy PD Yoon Jin-geun] "There is no separate green space in the city."

The site of Yongsan Park in Seoul, which had been off-limits to the public for nearly 120 years, has been unveiled and opened to citizens on a trial basis. The government is conducting a trial opening of Yongsan Park from the 10th to the 19th of this month.

The section opened for trial this time stretches approximately 1.1 km in a straight line from near Exit 1 of Sinyongsan Station, passing south of the Presidential Office, to the sports field north of the National Museum of Korea. Yongsan Park has been inaccessible to the public for the past 118 years due to the Japanese colonial period, U.S. military occupation, and stationing.

During the trial opening period, the government permits entry to the park only to citizens who have made prior reservations for groups of 600 people every two hours. Citizens met at the park on the morning of the 15th expressed satisfaction with the open park scenery.

Mr. Park Jae-wan (35) said, "(Yongsan Park) is one of the few places in downtown Seoul that is not obscured by buildings or apartments and offers a sense of openness," adding, "The scenery becomes even more beautiful in autumn or spring, so I hope visitors will feel this openness again."

Mr. Byun Ui-ho (69) said, "One side of the park looks like a big city, and the other side feels like the countryside." Some citizens also expressed favorable opinions toward President Yoon Seok-yeol due to this temporary opening of Yongsan Park. Mr. Heo Soo-il (74) said, "Seeing the Presidential Office, I think President Yoon made a good choice to open Yongsan Park," emphasizing, "I believe he will become a president who communicates more closely with the people."

The place where the most citizens gathered that day was the 'Visit to the Front Yard of the Presidential Office' event site, where visitors can tour the front yard of the Presidential Office. Here, with guidance from officials, groups of 40 people can visit the front yard for 40 minutes each session.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 16th that the trial opening of Yongsan Park will be extended for one week until the 26th. The ministry explained that this extension is due to national interest and is intended to allow more citizens to experience Yongsan Park in advance. The ministry also plans to operate on-site registration starting from the 20th to make access easier for citizens who are not familiar with the internet.

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