Summit venue renovated to symbolize reconciliation
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A meeting room inside the Peace House where a summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will be held Friday / Joint press corps
By Joint press corps, Kim Rahn
The venue of the inter-Korean summit has been renovated with interior decor and concepts symbolizing wishes for reconciliation of the two Koreas and peace on the Korean Peninsula, according to Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday.
The Peace House, a building on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjeom, underwent more than two weeks of renovation for the summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un slated for tomorrow.
Although Panmunjeom has been the venue for many inter-Korean ministerial-level talks, this is the first time a summit is being held there, with the two previous summits in 2000 and 2007 were held in Pyongyang.
In previous ministerial-level talks, South Korean and North Korean officials entered the meeting room on the second floor of the building through separate gates. They also sat on opposite sides of a rectangle table. A painting of Mount Halla in Jeju Island hung on the wall behind the table.
After the renovation, now Moon and Kim will enter the room together through the main gate. An oval-shaped table was newly made, designed to create a friendlier atmosphere. The table is 2,018 millimeters wide through its center, symbolizing the year of 2018.
“We designed the table to be preserved as a historic remembrance of the 2018 summit being held to establish peace on the peninsula,” presidential vice spokeswoman Ko Min-jung said.
A design of the Korean Peninsula, including Jeju Island, Ulleung Island and Dokdo islets, is engraved on top of the back of the chairs for President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the inter-Korean summit venue in Panmunjeom. / Joint press corps
The chairs for the two leaders have the design of the Korean Peninsula, including Jeju Island and Dokdo, on top of the back.
On the back wall hangs a painting of Mount Geumgang, by painter Shin Jang-sik. South Korean tours to the mountain in North Korea have been suspended since 2008 after a tourist was shot dead by a North Korean soldier. “Mount Geumgang is the symbol of Korean reconciliation and cooperation. The painting shows wishes for the success of the summit,” Ko said.
The interior decor is mostly themed like a traditional Korean-style house, or hanok: Window frames were made of wood in the traditional way; the tables and chairs were made of walnut, which was often used for traditional furniture; a table on which Kim will sign a visitors' book was made with the theme of a traditional small dining table called soban; and the reception room on the first floor, where the two leaders will have a casual conversation before the meeting, has a folding screen with the theme of Hangeul, which the two Koreas share.
“The Peace House used to be a venue for ministerial-level talks, so it did not have furniture that met the need of a summit. To save expenses, we minimized making new pieces of furniture; and some of other pieces were those kept at Cheong Wa Dae and mended,” Ko said.