Culture Ministry promotes Blue House area with a 'Welcome Week'

The government will hold a string of programs to promote tourism in the Cheongwadae (Blue House) area in Jongno District, central Seoul from Friday to June 30.

Poster for the 2024 Cheongwadae Sarangchae Welcome Week. [CHEONGWADAE SARANGCHE]

The government will hold a string of programs to promote tourism in the Cheongwadae (Blue House) area in Jongno District, central Seoul from Friday to June 30.

The “2024 Cheongwadae Sarangchae Welcome Week,” co-hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), will feature various events such as travel programs, a flea market with local businesses and interactive exhibitions. Visitors will also be able to receive coupons for local shops in the area.

The travel programs consist of five travel courses recommended by five travel experts with extensive knowledge about the Blue House area and will be conducted five times throughout the "Welcome Week," according to the Culture Ministry. The courses cover history, food, music, art and photography.

Poster for the 2024 Cheongwadae Sarangchae Welcome Week. [MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM]

The Culture Ministry also compiled a "Welcome Coupon Book" of discounts for local stores and daily classes. Around 30 local shops in the Blue House area will accept coupons from the book.

A flea market featuring local small businesses will be held on the front yard of Cheongwadae Sarangchae, the visitor center for the presidential residence, on June 15 and 16. Visitors who post their visit to Sarangchae on social media during June 15 and 16 will receive souvenirs such as fortune pouches.

Inside Cheongwadae Sarangchae, visitors can read about the Blue House area and share travel tips with each other at the “Travel Plan Table” exhibition. Visitors who post about their visit to the Sarangchae exhibition on social media will receive souvenirs, including a travel map of the Blue House area, a personalized travel exploration guide and a Sarangchae passport notebook.

Cheongwadae Sarangchae [CHEONGWADAE SARANGCHAE]

Second vice minister of the Culture Ministry, Jang Mi-ran, will also visit Cheongwadae Sarangchae, which reopened to the public on Friday.

On Saturday, Jang will participate in a historical walking tour, which includes Gyeongbok Palace's Yeongchumun Gate, poet Yi Sang’s house in Tongin-dong and Suseong-dong Valley in Mount Inwang. Around 20 domestic and foreign tourists, along with travel content creator Seol Jae-woo, are set to join the tour.

“There are many diverse places in the Blue House area where you can enjoy palaces, modern and contemporary architecture, traditional culture, art spaces, 'K-culture' and nature in urban areas," said Jang. "I hope that more domestic and foreign visitors will visit the Blue House area during this welcome week to enjoy the charm where Korea's past and present coexist."

BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]