CheongNamDae

In 1980, during the completion ceremony of the dam construction in lake Daecheong-Ho, former president Jeon Du-Hwan extolled surrounding site. According to him, construction of Cheongnamdae started in June, 1983 and was completed in December, six months after the commencement of the construction.

The succeeding presidents spent about 400 days in a total of 88 visits in 20 years. The visits ranged from 4 to 5 times per year and 7 to 8 times in case of more frequent visits during summer vacations and national holidays.

Cheongnamdae which means the 'Blue House on the South Region,' is the exclusive villa for the presidents. It is built on an area of about 460 acres near the Daecheong Dam in Cheongwon-Gun, Chungcheongbuk-Do.

It was built during the Fifth Republic. But as public opinion on the destruction of the public park around the Daecheong Dam worsened, the special committee of the parliament during the Fifth Republic conducted field survey in 1988. While there were four presidential villas including Gimhae from the tenure of president Lee Seung-Man, they were abolished during the administration of president Kim Yeong-Sam and only Cheongnamdae remained.

Cheongnamdae had been maintained to enable the president to receive reports on state affairs even during vacation. The best water purification system was built and maintained because the lake Daecheong-Ho the source of water supply is near it. Cheongnamdae was protected by the top security facility of the country and was secured with quadruple iron-wire fences. It was restricted for security reasons for almost 20 years. But on April 18, 2003, President Roh Mu-Hyeon of the Participatory Government transferred its ownership to Chungcheonbuk-Do and it was then opened to the public.

The succeeding presidents needed to make important decisions due to the rapidly changing environment in Korea and abroad. They stayed in Cheongnamdae during crucial moments of their administration as they made plans and decisions on important government affairs. The decisions of presidents in Cheongnamdae changed the history. This is called 『Cheongnamdae Plans』. Moreover, presidents welcomed and honored their national guests in Cheongnamdae.