The descendants of diplomatic countries 100 years ago became Public Relations Ambassadors for Deoksugung Palace

- 12 young influencer from the countries that established diplomatic relations with the Korean Empire from 1876 to 1902 were appointed (8.16) -

Cultural Heritage Administration Royal Palaces and Tombs Center, Deoksugung Palace(Director Gwon Jeomsu) will hold an appointment ceremony for Deoksugung Palace's Public Relations Ambassadors(“Global Young Ambassadors”) on August 16.
※ Global Young Ambassador(GYA) appointment ceremony: Wednesday, August 16 from 1:20 p.m. to 1:50 p.m. / Conference room on the 3rd floor of Dondeokjeon Hall

Foreigners appointed as ambassadors for Deoksugung Palace are young people living in Korea and engaged in the Korean culture and art sector among a total of 12 countries that established diplomatic relations with the Korean Empire between 1876 and 1902.
Since the opening of Dondeokjeon Hall is scheduled for September 26, descendants of 12 countries that established diplomatic ties with the Korean Empire 100 years ago will be appointed as the GYAs for Deoksugung Palace, the starting point of modern Korean diplomacy, to support the opening of Dondeokjeon Hall and help guide foreign visitors.
* 12 countries: Japan, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia, France, Austria, Hungary, China, Belgium, Denmark

In addition, the Deoksugung Palace Management Office plans to appoint additional influencers from 34 countries (total 46 countries) who participated with Korea at the 1893 Columbian Expo in Chicago, USA, as additional GYA(“Global Young Ambassadors”) for Deoksugung Palace in September.
This whole group of 46 GYA will not only promote Deoksugung Palace and Dondeokjeon Hall to the world, but also are expected to actively respond to governmental cultural policies such as promoting the 2030 Busan Expo with the slogan "100 Years of Memory, 100 Years of Friendship - World Expo in Korea."

The Cultural Heritage Administration plans to open Dondeokjeon Hall, which will be ready as an exhibition and book-record storage (archive) space, to the people in Korea and abroad. It is to restore historical space and to be used as a public diplomatic platform for future cultural exchanges, too.
“Global Young Ambassadors” of Deoksugung Palace are expected to serve as the spearhead of public diplomacy as a national heritage to promote Korea's history and culture to the world, contributing to strengthening friendship for the next 100 years.

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Overview and Meaning of the Reconstruction of Dondeokjeon Hall in Deoksugung Palace

Dondeokjeon Hall in Deoksugung Palace was designed as a diplomatic space for the Korean Empire. It was a Western-style guesthouse built in the Imperial Palace from 1902 to 1903 with the aim of realizing international exchanges based on trust aimed at the Korean Empire and showing the world its willingness to protect sovereignty and the modern state on par with the Western powers in time for the 40th anniversary of King Gojong's accession.

The above construction purpose is clearly revealed in the signboard called "Dondeokjeon." "Dondeok" can be found in Chapter 16 of the Chinese ancient literature, "If you coax the distant, tame the close, treat the virtuous, trust the virtuous, and prevent the crafty, orangists from all directions will obey." The "Those with Virtue" refers to various countries in the world that need to build trust through exchanges, and it can be said that the place to treat them is Dondeokjeon.

Built in a colorful style popular in Paris, France, the beautiful structure was used by the emperor to receive diplomatic envoys, hold banquets, and accommodate state-level foreigners, but was destroyed by Japanese colonial era in 1921-1926 and a children's amusement park was built in 1933.

From 2015 to September 2023, the Cultural Heritage Administration plans to rebuild Dondeokjeon Hall for the first time in about 100 years through research, excavation, architecture, and exhibition production, and interior.

The "peace in East Asia and neutralization of the Korean Peninsula" that the Korean Empire wanted 100 years ago still has implications. The historical and modern significance of Dondeokjeon is that it has created another public diplomatic platform that can actively communicate and interact with the world through cultural languages such as international diplomatic history exhibitions and Busan World Expo.