Report
South Koreans discover the Blue House, the presidential palace
Audio 01:21
The Blue House is now open to the public on May 10, 2022. AFP - -
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
On May 10, the day of the inauguration of the new conservative president Yoon suk-yeol, the South Koreans were able to enter the Blue House.
The new president has in fact moved his offices and his residence to the premises of the Ministry of Defense in order to “
return to the people
” the historic presidential residence.
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With our correspondent in Seoul
,
Nicolas Rocca
There were 6,000 of them waiting behind the gates before being able to tread for the first time the 250,000 m² of land in which all the presidents of the country had installed their residence.
At the head of the procession, Jeun-he who escorts foreign students.
“
It was a great opportunity to show them the opening of the Maison Bleue first.
It's even more beautiful than I imagined, it's really an honor to be there with my students.
»
Others came with family like Minseok: “
It's an honor to come today with my parents.
For 75 years, the Blue House was closed, everyone wanted to come and see it, today was the first day to finally visit it, so all the people here are happy for the opportunity.
»
A public park
Kim Ho-cho was also among the first to crowd in front of the windows of what was until yesterday the residence of now former President Moon Jae-in.
"
We couldn't visit the Blue House before, I'm very happy, I didn't think it would be possible one day in my life.
During the pandemic, people did very little, there weren't many places to go, so giving the Blue House back to the people is really a very nice idea.
»
Before South Koreans could enter, it was in this residence that foreign heads of state were received.
It remains to be seen where Yoon Suk-yeol will welcome Joe Biden when he arrives in South Korea on May 20.
If the place has officially become a public park, future visitors will have to book them online and the gauge will be limited to 39,000 people per day.
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To read also: South Korea: Yoon Suk-yeol sworn in as president, faces an ever more belligerent North Korea
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South Korea
Yoon Suk-yeol