The toilet of the secret underground bunker. (Image : Yonhap)
SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – A secret underground bunker located under the streets of Yeouido will be opened to the public for the first time in 40 years. The bunker is presumed to have been made in the 1970s.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government held a briefing session to open the secret bunker, which is 8,536 square feet in size, to the press. Seoul city officials explained the history of the bunker, as well as plans for its use in the future.
When the Yeouido bus transfer center was under construction in 2005, city officials found an underground bunker seven or eight meters under the streets.
Entrance of the secret underground bunker. (Image : Yonhap)
After going down a flight of steep stairs, there is a room sized about 710 square feet. The room, which is presumed to have been used by the president, is furnished and has a bathroom and shower. There is a machine room and toilet to the left, and two other steel doors that are shut closed.
Aerial photographs of Yeouido when the bunker was first found. (Image : Yonhap)
There are traces of construction in the area near the bunker in aerial photographs from November 1976, but the bunker’s exit is seen in photographs taken a year later, so officials assume that the construction took place then. Of note, the location of the bunker coincides with the location of the president’s platform for the Armed Forces Day ceremony in 1977. It is presumed that the bunker would have been used as a secret escape facility.
Secret underground bunker. (Image : Yonhap)
The city government is opening the bunker to citizens from October 10 to November 1. Those who want to visit the bunker can reserve their visit at the underground bunker homepage (http://safe.seoul.go.kr) until October 23.
By M.H.Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
