By Kim Rahn
Seoul will restore all the walls surrounding the old capital of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) by 2015 under a plan to make the 600-year-old fortress a worldwide-recognized cultural heritage.
To make the restorations as close to the original form as possible, the city government will try to open or move private properties or military facilities currently situated on the original site, including the mayor’s official residence.
Mayor Park Won-soon Monday announced the scheme to link severed sections of the 18.6-kilometer walls named “Hanyang Castle.” Hanyang is the old name of the Joseon capital.
“We’ll connect all the sections by 2015. For parts where the wall cannot be set up because of roads or buildings, we’ll put a mark indicating the fortress. We’ll make the walls the most charming walking course for citizens and tourist course for foreign visitors,” Park said.
The city is also hoping to have the walls listed as a UNESCO Cultural Heritage by 2015. The fortress was put on the tentative list as a world heritage on April 20.
Many parts of the fortress were destroyed when roads and buildings were built during Japanese colonial rule and following the modernization of the city. Of the total sections, 12.3 kilometers have been restored since 1975.
The city will build fortress-shaped overpasses for sections where streets are covering the original site, while putting specific paving blocks for sections where the land is privately owned or buildings stand.
It will also seek cooperation from private and military facilities in mountainous areas which cut the walls stretching along the ridges, so that the facilities will open their property to people or move. “I’ll talk about the issue with the U.S. Embassy as well because some U.S. military facilities are blocking the fortress site,” Park said.
Included in the plan is the mayor’s residence, located on the hillside in Hyehwa-dong. Parts of the residence are covering about an 86-meter section of the fortress, and the city plans to demolish them.
“I plan to move by next March, maybe to one of the city-owned buildings. We may be able to use the remaining parts of the residence as a fortress-related museum or an information center for visitors,” Park said.
The city will spend some 32.7 billion won by 2015 on the project.