By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
Bronze statues of nine former presidents will be erected at the complex of the former presidential retreat Cheongnamdae in Cheongwon-gun, North Chungcheong Province.
The Cheongnamdae Management Center said Sunday that the statues will be placed together with five additional statues made of fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP).
The five FRP statues will include a walking Chun Doo-hwan; Roh Tae-woo golfing; Kim Young-sam jogging; Kim Dae-jung reading; and Roh Moo-hyung cycling.
Lee Kyung-gwan, an official of the management center, said the statues that will be ready for public viewing by mid- December, are to attract more tourists.
When first built in 1983, Cheongnamdae was specifically designated as a villa for then President Chun Doo-hwan.
The late President Roh Moo-hyun opened it to the public by transferring the ownership of the land and facilities to the government of North Chungcheong Province.
The facility charged visitors for entrance and initially drew a stream of tourists, reaching nearly 1 million per year. Yet, the number subsided to 550,000 last year, putting a strain on the budget for Cheongnamdae's upkeep.
The complex houses a three-story building with a combined floor space of 2,699 square meters, which was used by five former presidents.
According to the management office, the former presidents visited the facility 88 times over the last 20 years.
A 54,500 square meter golf course, a fish farm, various small parks, an ecology center and mountain trails surround the complex.