Jungnang-gu Mangu History and Culture Park Settles as a Representative Modern History and Culture Park

[Seoul District News] Jungnang Mangwoo Space, Opened in April This Year, Wins Two Seoul Architecture Awards and Seoul Good Light Award Excellence; Establishes as Regional Landmark with Various Exhibitions and Film Festivals; Growing Interest as Space for History, Culture, and Healing with Expert Visits Including Former Cultural Heritage Administrator Yu Hongjun... Jongno-gu Hosts In-depth Exploration of Works by Korean Art Masters ‘Gongjae Yoon Duseo’ and ‘Namjeong Park Nosu’ & Art Education in Hanok and Field Trip to Inwangsan Area, the Studios of Great Masters

Ryu Kyung-gi, Mayor of Jungnang-gu, delivered a greeting during the visit to Mangwoo History and Culture Park at the Seoul Museum of History Operations Committee meeting on the 7th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Public interest in Mangwoo Historical and Cultural Park in Jungnang-gu (Mayor Ryu Kyung-gi) is increasing day by day. The communal cemetery, once avoided due to tens of thousands of graves, has now transformed into a historical and cultural park rich with infinite humanities value, becoming a landmark where visitors can meet figures who led modern and contemporary Korean history.

To establish this historical and cultural park, the district received management rights of Mangwoo Park from Seoul City in July 2020 and established a dedicated department, the Mangwoo Park Division, in July 2021 to focus administrative efforts.

The Jungnang Mangwoo Space, welcoming residents at the park entrance, serves as the park’s landmark and hub. It is a two-story building with a total floor area of 1,247㎡ (approximately 377 pyeong), equipped with a caf?, observatory, exhibition hall, and education room, and opened in April this year.

It received the Excellence Award and the Citizen Sympathy Special Award in the Completion category of the 40th Seoul Metropolitan Government Architecture Awards. The commemorative video produced for the opening won the Excellence Award in the Media Facade Content category of the Seoul Metropolitan Government Good Light Awards competition, recognizing its excellence.

Special exhibitions and historical cultural education programs are actively conducted. These range from special exhibitions highlighting independence activists resting in the park, exhibitions reinterpreting works of historic literary figures through calligraphy, to exhibitions introducing linguists.

In September, the ‘Mangwoo Starlight Film Festival’ was held, screening films produced by professional and citizen directors. The district utilizes the meaning of the park and space to engage residents, enabling them to enjoy cultural life.

Passing through Mangwoo Space leads to the starting point of the park, the wall of portraits of famous figures. It reveals that pioneers who led Korea’s modern and contemporary history, including patriot Han Yong-un, Oh Se-chang, Moon Il-pyeong, Bang Jeong-hwan, as well as Ji Seok-young, Lee Jung-seop, and Park In-hwan, rest together here.

Annual memorial events are held at sites such as the Itaewon Cemetery’s unmarked joint graves, where activist Yu Gwan-sun is most closely commemorated, and Bang Jeong-hwan’s grave. The district is maintaining the entrances and aging facilities of each graveyard through the ‘Famous Figures’ Graves Memory Space Project’ and adding various symbolic historical markers such as annals monuments and QR code information boards around the graves.

Additionally, the district manages the park together with residents through the ‘Eternal Memory Volunteer Corps,’ where residents individually care for the graves of modern and contemporary famous figures. The volunteer corps consists of 317 members from 58 organizations, tending to the graves of about 80 historical figures and promoting their legacies widely.

Accessibility has also been enhanced for visitors’ convenience. Since September last year, a new bus stop has been established and is in operation, improving the inconvenience of having to walk a long distance due to the lack of stops near the park entrance.

Looking ahead, the district plans to expand parking facilities, improve access roads, and reorganize the forest to further enhance the park’s healing qualities that help visitors forget their worries.

Thanks to these efforts, the number of visitors is increasing, and the park’s status is rising both domestically and internationally. On the 7th, Professor Yoo Hong-jun, chairman of the Seoul Museum of History’s Operating Committee, and committee members visited the park, toured Jungnang Mangwoo Space, and explored the graves of key figures.

Professor Yoo Hong-jun featured the transformation from a communal cemetery to Mangwoo Historical and Cultural Park under the theme ‘Mangwoo Byeolgok’ in the 12th volume of his ‘My Cultural Heritage Exploration’ series, published on October 25.

Ryu Kyung-gi, Mayor of Jungnang-gu, said, “Mangwoo Historical and Cultural Park holds the history of figures from Korea’s modern and contemporary history and is a precious resource with dense forests and walking trails, unprecedented even globally. We will continue to develop the park as a place of life coexisting with nature, a healing space to forget life’s worries, and a historical space reflecting on the past and moving forward, nurturing it as a valuable treasure.”

Jongno-gu (Mayor Jeong Moon-heon) is operating the 2022 Jongno Arts Education Academy ‘Painters Produced by Jongno’ every Tuesday until December 13.

The program offers an in-depth opportunity to learn about various painters produced by Jongno from the 18th to the 20th century who illuminated Korean art and their works.

It is meaningful as it features painters such as Gongjae Yun Du-seo, known for his striking self-portraits, Namjeong Park No-su, a first-generation Korean ink painter, as well as familiar masters like Gyeomjae Jeong Seon, Danwon Kim Hong-do, and Cheon Kyung-ja, whose stories are shared at Hanok cultural spaces Mugyewon and Sangchonjae.

Especially, the final 10th lecture on December 13 includes a field trip to the Inwangsan area, which served as the studios for these masters.

The class is led by Professor Lee Tae-ho, Chair Professor at Myongji University, author of ‘How Did Old Painters Depict Our Land’ and ‘Rivals in Korean Art History.’

He introduces the connection between the painters and Jongno to students, enhancing their understanding by explaining the current state of their activity sites with photos he personally took.

This education is open to the general public, and applications can be made by phone through the Jongno Cultural Foundation. Each session accepts 20 participants on a first-come, first-served basis, with a tuition fee of 5,000 KRW per lecture. Detailed schedules and information are available on the Jongno Cultural Foundation website.

Mayor Jeong Moon-heon said, “This will be a great opportunity to look into the lives and stories of masters produced by Jongno. Since it consists of refined art education enjoyed in Hanok cultural spaces and field trips, we hope many interested people will participate.”

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