Secret 1970s bunker to be transformed into cultural space

Secret 1970s bunker to be transformed into cultural space. August. 22, 2016 07:07. by 황태호기자 taeho@donga.com. An underground bunker under the Yeouido Bus Transfer Center, which was found in 2005, will be transformed into cultural space and open to the public in May next year.

“We will change the underground bunker in Yeouido to a multi-purpose exhibition hall and other cultural facilities for citizens and open them in May next year,” the Seoul metropolitan government said on Saturday. “For this, we are in process to make decisions on urban plan facilities.”

The underground bunker was found in 2005 when the bus transfer center was under construction. It is one level structure with an area of 957 square meters. It has a restroom, a bathroom and an empty space with a podium. There is no official record, but an aerial photograph taken in November 1976 shows that there was no entrance to the bunker whereas another aerial photograph taken a year later showed one. Given this, it is likely that it was created for the president’s security in 1977.

After learning the existence of the bunker, the Seoul metropolitan government considered creating facilities for transit passengers. However, the idea was not adopted due to profitability issues. It opened the space to citizens temporarily in 2015 but has done nothing since then. Though the city government designated it as future heritage in 2013, it has been criticized for potential safety risks as it did not even control the entrance of the bunker.

The Seoul Museum of Art, which will be responsible for the operation of cultural facilities using the bunker, plans to reflect the interesting history of the secret bunker made under the authoritarian government. It also plans to restore a sofa in the small room where the president is thought to have waited and air a documentary film about the time. It will also host exhibitions that can best use of the nature of the bunker.