[THINK ENGLISH] 덕수궁에 다시 문 연 역사적 건물 돈덕전

Dondeokjeon, a French-style building that sat on the grounds inside Deoksu Palace in central Seoul for only about three decades, was reconstructed from the ground up by the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) for over four years and will be...

Dondeokjeon, a French-style building inside Deoksu Palace in central Seoul has been restored to its original state and will be open to the public from Tuesday. [CULTURAL HERITAGE ADMINISTRATION]

서울 중구 덕수궁 안에 프랑스식 건물 돈덕전이 옛 모습으로 복원되어 화요일부터 일반에 공개된다. [문화재청]

Historic Dondeokjeon restored to original state in Deoksu Palace덕수궁에 다시 문 연 역사적 건물 돈덕전 Korea JoongAng Daily 10면 기사Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023

Dondeokjeon, a French-style building that sat on the grounds inside Deoksu Palace in central Seoul for only about three decades, was reconstructed from the ground up by the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) for over four years and will be opening to the public on Tuesday.

sit on the grounds: 위치하다decade: 10년reconstruct: 재건하다from ground up: 처음부터

서울 덕수궁 안에 불과 30여년 동안 존재했던 프랑스풍 건축물 돈덕전이 문화재청에 의해 4년여에 걸쳐 새롭게 지어져 오는 화요일 대중에 공개되었다.

Though its time was short-lived, the administration said it believes it’s important to restore the original state of royal palaces. The CHA emphasized that Dondeokjeon was also significant in that it was a location at which the Korean Empire (1897-1910) actively engaged in diplomatic activities to communicate with foreign envoys that the Korean Empire is no longer a vassal or tributary state of China, but its own sovereign state.

short-lived: 단명한restore: 복원하다original state: 원상태emphasize: 강조하다significant: 중요한, 의미있는engage in: ~에 참여하다diplomatic activities: 외교 활동foreign envoy: 외국 사신vassal state: 속국tributary state: 조공국sovereign state: 주권국

비록 짧게 존재한 건물이었지만 정부는 궁궐의 본래 모습을 복원하는 것이 중요하다고 밝히며 특히 돈덕전은 주권수호 의지를 담아 대한제국이 중국의 속국이나 조공국이 아닌 점을 외국 사신들에게 알리는 등 활발한 외교활동을 펼치기 위해 지은 장소라는 점에서도 의미가 있다고 강조했다.

Dondoekjeon, which sits next to Deoksu Palace’s Seokjojeon, another western-style building, was built bretween 1902 and 1903 during Emperor Gojong’s reign. However, during the Japanese colonial rule of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945, Deoksu Palace was turned into a public park, and the original Dondeokjeon building is believed to have been demolished between 1921 and 1926.

colonial rule: 식민지 지배turn into: ~ 으로 변하다demolish: 철거하다

덕수궁의 또 다른 서양식 건물인 석조전 옆에 위치한 돈덕전은 고종황제 재위 중이었던 1902년에서 1903년에 지어졌다. 하지만 일제 강점기 중 덕수궁은 공원으로 바뀌었고 원래의 돈덕전 건물은 1921년부터 1926년 사이 철거된 것으로 추정된다.

To celebrate the new Dondeokjeon, an opening ceremony was held on Monday, a day before the official opening. The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the head of the CHA Choi Eung-chon and diplomats and ambassadors from 34 different countries including Philip Goldberg, the U.S. ambassador to Korea.

attend: 침석하다diplomat: 외교관

새로 지어진 돈덕전의 개관을 기념하기 위해 정식 개관 하루 전인 월요일 열린 행사에는 한덕수 총리와 최응천 문화재청장, 필립 골드버그 미국대사 등 34개국의 외교관 및 대사들이 참석했다.

The reconstruction and excavation of the site began in 2017. Based on the surviving documents and photographs as well as the unearthed remains of items including tiles and bricks, the CHA said it was able to restore the building’s exterior to “close to its original.”

excavation: 발굴surviving documents: 남아있는 자료unearth: 발굴하다exterior: 외관

돈덕전의 재건축은 2017년 시작했는데 현재 남아 있는 문서와 사진들 또한 발굴된 벽돌과 타일 등을 토대로 건물의 외관을 최대한 옛 돈덕전과 가깝게 복원했다고 문화재청은 밝혔다.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]