The Yongsan Park site near the presidential office will be open to the general public for 13 days from the 25th of this month to the 6th of the next month.



Some visitors are also allowed to tour the front yard of the Oval Office.



The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced today (19th) that part of the Yongsan Park site will be opened on a trial basis to reflect the opinions of the people in the process of creating Seoul Yongsan Park, which will be reborn as a people's garden.



The pilot opening target is a space from the southern side of the President's Office to the 'Sports Field' on the northern side of the National Museum of Korea, an area returned from USFK.



There are two entrances to the park: the entrance to the residence of the USFK general who faces Shinyongsan Station and Amorepacific, and the north entrance to the National Museum of Korea.



The trial opening will be held from 9 am to 7 pm every day for 13 days from the 25th to the 6th of the following month.



It will be divided into 5 sessions a day and will receive visitors every 2 hours.



Citizens entering the park can tour the grounds for two hours.



A total of 32,500 people are expected to experience Yongsan Park in advance during the pilot opening period.



The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to provide detailed explanations and exhibition services to citizens who enter the park, allowing them to walk along the main circulation and look around Yongsan Park.



An official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, "We plan to install old photos and exhibits of the Yongsan Base at key points and provide commentators to explain the history and future of Yongsan Park."



In addition, on the 25th, the first day of the pilot opening, various events such as the opening of the door at the entrance near Sinyongsan Station and performances by the military band and the honor guard to welcome the first visit of the people will be prepared.



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During the pilot opening period, various entertainment and attractions such as performances and performances, park culture festivals, seed planting (gardening), family picnics (picnics), and catch balls are provided.



In particular, we run a program where you can tour the presidential office and see the front yard of the presidential office, which was moved from the Blue House to Yongsan.



Tour participants are selected on-site on a daily, first-come, first-served basis.



Security equipment such as helicopters and security vehicles will be on display in the front yard of the President's Office.



The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport expected that the tour of the presidential office and viewing of security equipment would be interesting to the people who visited Yongsan Park.



The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to collect public opinions on the creation of Yongsan Park by providing 'listening mailboxes' throughout the event site during the pilot opening period.



An official from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, "We have prepared an event to draw a blueprint for the process of converting the Yongsan Park site, which is returning to the public for the first time in 120 years, into an open space with the relocation of the presidential office." "Starting with this event, Yongsan I hope that the park will be reborn as a center of public communication in the future.”



For more information on the pilot opening of Yongsan Park, you can check the Yongsan Park public communication space website (www.yongsangparkstory.kr) and through Naver reservations.



Reservations can be made from 2pm on the 20th, and can be requested up to 5 days before the desired date of visit.



On the other hand, the opposition parties and environmental groups criticize the opening of US military bases contaminated with oil and heavy metals without proper purification over this trial opening as dangerous.



Earlier, at the National Assembly National Defense Committee held on the 17th, lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea also cited the environmental investigation and risk assessment report received from the Ministry of Environment and pointed out that hazardous substances such as dioxin, oil pollutants, and arsenic were detected in the returned site.



In response, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, "During this trial opening period, there will be no harmful effects on the human body because only a short stay of about 2 hours is possible once. It was used as a school,” he explained.



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(Picture = Photo Reporters' Group, provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Yonhap News)