Inside South Korea’s Blue House and the Korean President with Hawaii ties

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – U.S. Presidents live in the White House. In South Korea, Presidents lived in a Blue House.

Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul served as the home and administrative headquarters of Korean presidents for 74 years.

In May 2022, current president Yoon Suk Yeol moved his office to a Defense Ministry complex in Yongsan district about three miles south, to a neighborhood that once housed a U.S. military base.

He opened the Blue House to the public for the first time, allowing the public to learn more about its history — which has ties to Hawaii.

The first president of the Republic of Korea and the first to live in the Blue House was Syngman Rhee, a long time Hawaii resident and strong ally to the United States.

After World War II and Korea was freed from Japanese colonial rule, Rhee and his wife moved to the 62-acre complex in 1948, known as Gyeongmudae at the time, and served as the residence of the Japanese governor-general.

Rhee brought with him democratic ideals he developed in Hawaii as a leader in Korea’s independence movement, along with artifacts like an English language typewriter he used to carry around to type diplomatic letters.

Before Japanese rule, the site was home to Korean royalty for hundreds of years and part of the sprawling Gyeongbokgung Palace in the heart of Seoul, which draws millions of visitors each year.

In 1960, after the ouster of President Rhee, the site’s name was changed to Blue House, after the 150,000 blue tiles covering the main building’s gabled roof.

Since opening to the public, the Blue House has fast become a popular destination. HNN was part of an international press tour that visited an exhibit about past presidents and various rooms on the second floor.

We also toured the State Guest House that hosted foreign dignitaries — the gardens — and the separate Presidential residence that was built in 1990.

Set against Bugaksan Mountain, the wooded surroundings provided a natural defense against attack, but it couldn’t protect Blue House residents from an ill fate.

Two presidents were forced out of power – one was assassinated – another impeached — one committed suicide – and nearly all were tied to corruption.

Today, the Blue House is free for the public to visit, a sign that even the most powerful house in the country can open the door to change.

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