'Lee Kun-hee Donation Hall' Construction Candidate Site Selected in Jongno-gu Songhyeon-dong 'Welcomed'

Songhyeon-dong site

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[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Jongno-gu (Mayor Kim Young-jong) announced on the 7th that the Songhyeon-dong site was selected as one of the two candidate sites for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's National Donation Lee Kun-hee Collection Hall (hereinafter referred to as the Lee Kun-hee Donation Hall), expressing its welcome for the acquisition of the donation hall that honors the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee's will.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon also expressed his opinion that if the government builds the Lee Kun-hee Donation Hall in Songhyeon-dong, he will actively cooperate, emphasizing that the Songhyeon-dong site is clearly the ‘right place.’

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has decided to utilize the Songhyeon-dong land as a park site and plans to exchange an equivalent amount of city-owned land instead of purchasing it from Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH).

Songhyeon-dong has been continuously highlighted as the place where Samsung once planned to build an art museum but gave up, and it is considered the best location to honor the late chairman’s will. Located at the heart of Korea’s historical and cultural center connecting Gyeongbokgung Palace, the Blue House, and Gwanghwamun, the need for a dignified facility that fits this context has long been raised.

If the Lee Kun-hee Donation Hall is built on the Songhyeon-dong land, it is expected to become a cultural and artistic landmark representing Seoul, synergizing with nearby institutions such as the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, the soon-to-open Seoul Museum of Craft Art, as well as the dense galleries and workshops in Samcheong-dong, Insadong, and Bukchon.

Excellent accessibility is another advantage of the Songhyeon-dong site. It is located in a place easily reachable by any public transportation, which holds significance in expanding opportunities for all citizens to enjoy culture and arts.

The art community has also proposed building the Lee Kun-hee Donation Hall in Songhyeon-dong. The preparatory committee of the ‘Group of People Who Want the Establishment of the National Museum of Modern Art,’ consisting of 673 members including Kim Jong-gyu, Chairman of the Cultural Heritage National Trust, Choi Yeol, former Cultural Heritage Specialist, and Jeong Jun-mo, former Curator of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, is requesting the establishment of a new museum to preserve valuable cultural heritage in Songhyeon-dong and shares this intention.

Previously, since 2010, Jongno-gu has consistently proposed creating a ‘Forest and Cultural Park’ on the Songhyeon-dong site. Judging that public land use is necessary due to the site’s characteristics, the district advocated for the creation of a park for citizens from the time Korean Air applied for approval of a tourism hotel construction project in Songhyeon-dong in March of the same year until the announcement of the sale plan.

This is intended to revisit the historical and cultural value of Songhyeon-dong and transform it into a lung-like space to respond to the increasingly severe urban fine dust, returning it to citizens as an urban park symbolizing the nation, like Central Park in New York or Hyde Park in London.

In line with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s announcement of candidate sites, Jongno-gu plans to propose building a ‘forest and park’ on the surface of the Songhyeon-dong site and the ‘Lee Kun-hee Donation Hall’ underground.

If Jongno-gu’s proposal is accepted, a forest and cultural park in the city center where citizens can rest and enjoy culture and arts will be created, worthy of being presented to the world.

Mayor Kim Young-jong said, “Not only Jongno-gu but many cultural and artistic figures share the intention and are requesting the construction of the Lee Kun-hee Donation Hall in Songhyeon-dong,” adding, “Songhyeon-dong is not only the ‘historical and cultural center’ and ‘cultural and artistic cluster’ but above all, the ‘best place to honor the late chairman’s will.’”

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