Blue House open with activities during Lunar New Year holidays

The Blue House in Jongno District, central Seoul [PARK SANG-MOON]

The Blue House is organizing an array of traditional Korean events for the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays.

According to the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, the public will be able to visit the Blue House — the former presidential office and residence in central Seoul that become available to the public since last May — during the Lunar New Year break for the first time ever and enjoy different events that will be prepared every day from Jan. 21 to 24.

From 3:00 p.m. for 40 minutes, starting from the main gate and going to the Blue House heliport, a series of traditional street performances will take place. Gilnori (street parades), gugak gayo (pop versions of Korean traditional music), talchum (mask dances) with lion masks and samulnori (traditional Korean percussion performances) are a few of the spectacles that visitors can expect.

Visitors who were born in the Year of the Rabbit, or in 2023, 2011, 1999, 1987, 1975, 1963, 1951 and 1939, will be given a complimentary 2023 calendar. An ID will need to be shown at the Blue House’s information center to receive the free gift.

Talk sessions will also be organized at 1:30 p.m. from Jan. 21 to 23 at the Blue House’s Chunchugwan building. On Saturday, the first day of the event, a talk session on the history of the Blue House and Gyeongbok Palace will be presented by Choi Tae-sung, a celebrity history teacher.

On Sunday and Monday, a JoongAng Ilbo reporter and an honorary professor from Kyungpook National University will each talk about the culture behind the Blue House. Each session will last an hour and will be conducted in Korean.

With 150 seats available, reservations via the Blue House’s website are required to attend the talk sessions. It will be on a first come, first served basis. All events are provided for free. For more information, call 1522-7760.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]