Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, Urges Designation of Late President Kim Dae-jung's Residence as Cultural Heritage, First Korean Nobel Laureate

Residence of Former President Kim Dae-jung and Wife in Donggyo-dong, Mapo-gu, a Cradle of Modern Korean History for Over 50 Years
Mapo-gu Hosts Numerous Presidential Memorial Facilities Including Choi Kyu-ha House, Park Chung-hee Memorial Hall, and Kim Dae-jung Library
Park Kang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, States "The Residence of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate President Kim Dae-jung Must Be Preserved as a Symbol of Democratization and Peace"

Park Kang-su, Mayor of Mapo District (left), and an official from the Cultural Heritage Administration

On the afternoon of the 21st, Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo District, visited the National Heritage Agency to urge the designation of the late President Kim Dae-jung’s residence (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Donggyo-dong Residence’) as a temporary national registered cultural heritage site.

On that day, Mayor Park delivered an official letter requesting the temporary national registered cultural heritage designation of the Donggyo-dong Residence to the National Heritage Agency and strongly emphasized the historical value and the necessity of registering the residence as cultural heritage through meetings with officials.

The late President Kim Dae-jung’s residence, located at 178-1 Donggyo-dong, Mapo District, is a historical and cultural space encompassing modern and contemporary Korean history, where President Kim and his wife lived for over 50 years.

However, after the Donggyo-dong Residence was sold to a private business owner in July, it became vulnerable to remodeling for commercial purposes at any time. In response, the district explained that urgent registration as a temporary national registered cultural heritage site is necessary to preserve the original form of the Donggyo-dong Residence.

In 2020, the Donggyo-dong Residence was also submitted for cultural heritage registration to the Seoul City Cultural Heritage Committee but was rejected because less than 50 years had passed since its reconstruction. However, with the amendment of the Modern and Contemporary Cultural Heritage Act last September, a legal basis for registering it as cultural heritage has emerged.

Mayor Park Gang-su of Mapo District stated, “Although there is public criticism over the sale of the residence to a private individual despite the late Lee Hee-ho’s wish for it to be used as a memorial hall, we cannot give up this precious historical and cultural asset of Korea’s modern and contemporary history for that reason.”

In addition to the Donggyo-dong Residence, Mapo District holds several presidential memorial facilities, including the former residence of President Choi Kyu-hah (Registered Cultural Heritage No. 413), the Park Chung-hee Presidential Memorial Hall, and the Kim Dae-jung Presidential Library.

Following the request for temporary national registered cultural heritage designation, the district plans to establish a support organization to purchase the residence and proceed with the formal national heritage registration process. It also intends to promote public consensus through publicity challenges, grant honorary road names such as ‘Kim Dae-jung-gil,’ and install informational signs as part of support projects.

Through these efforts, Mapo District expects the ‘Donggyo-dong Residence,’ an important historical heritage of the Republic of Korea, to become a future historical and cultural asset that everyone can enjoy together.

Mayor Park Gang-su of Mapo District said, “The late President Kim Dae-jung was the first Korean Nobel laureate and a person who devoted himself to peace in the Republic of Korea, regardless of political views or ideology. Therefore, the Donggyo-dong Residence holds significant historical value as a symbol of Korea’s democratization and peace.”

He added, “Preserving such a historical space, sharing it together, and passing it on intact to future generations is the rightful responsibility and role of the nation.”

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