Cheongnamdae


Once the holiday home of South Korean presidents, this villa is no Camp David, but it’s a beautiful lakeside park, with 185 hectares of well-manicured grounds and 2.3km of paths along the lakefront and across the gently rolling hills. You can linger in the Chogajeong Pavilion where President Kim Dae-jung liked to sit, or look over the golf course that President Roh Tae-woo favoured but President Kim Young-sam disapproved of (too many associations with corruption).

Cheongnamdae was built in 1983 by President Chun Doo-hwan (whose takeover of power sparked the Gwangju Uprising in 1980). Twenty years later, the much-loved President Roh Moo-Hyun opened it to the public.

The parkland is more attractive than the surprisingly modest two-storey villa, with trails around the compound and a musical fountain (ABBA features on the soundtrack). Where the bus stops, there’s a building with a hagiographic exhibition (mostly Korean) on all the presidents, as well as displays of items used by the presidents in residence (polo mallets, Colgate shaving cream, cutlery).

Take local bus 311 (₩1300, 50 minutes, 15km, hourly) from outside Cheongju’s intercity bus terminal to the final stop at Munui. Walk out of Munui’s small bus depot and turn left. In a few minutes you’ll reach the car park and ticket office for the shuttle bus (15 minutes, every 30 minutes), which runs 9am to 4.30pm from February to November, and to 3.30pm December and January.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

2. Golden Pavilion

12.16 MILES

This intriguing and rare five-storey wooden pavilion is painted bright gold from top to bottom and was founded by the Daesun Jillihoe new religious…

3. Sejong Lake Park

12.29 MILES

This enormous park with a human-made lake was built as a family destination. It's not far from a complex of government buildings.

4. Concert Hall

12.61 MILES

A concert hall near Cheongju's Early Printing Museum.

5. Early Printing Museum

12.74 MILES

This small museum tells you everything about the Jikji, the oldest book in the world printed with movable metal type. Unfortunately the book is not here –…

6. Sangdang San-seong

14.43 MILES

This large fortress is 4km northeast of Cheongju, on the slopes of the mountain Uam-san. Originally built in the 1590s and renovated in the 18th century,…

7. Donghak-sa

16.47 MILES

Donghak-sa is noteworthy for being one of Korea's few nunneries. Just before the temple, look for the trail that leads you on an easy one-hour trek up to…

8. Brother & Sister Pagodas

16.68 MILES

These twin Silla-era pagodas are said to represent the brother and sister who founded the original hermitage at Donghak-sa.