Osan City Holds Completion Ceremony for Reconstruction of Doksan Fortress Mountain Gate

[Suwon Ilbo=Park Chan-hyuk Reporter] Osan City held a completion ceremony on the 18th for the Doksan Fortress mountain gate reconstruction project, which it has been promoting as a priority initiative.

The completion ceremony was held to commemorate the dismantling and expanded reconstruction of the existing mountain gate that marks the entrance to the path leading to Doksan Fortress, a nationally designated cultural heritage, Semat-daejigi, and Bojuksa, a traditional Buddhist temple.

Doksan Fortress Semat-daejigi has become a representative tourist destination visited by hundreds of hikers and tourists on average daily. However, the passage gap between the granite foundation stones at the base of the mountain gate columns installed at the entrance in 2003 was only 2.94m, making it difficult for vehicle passage and fire truck access for initial response and fire suppression in case of fire.

Recognizing the necessity of this project after taking office in his eighth civil-elected term, Mayor Lee Kwon-jae actively pursued the mountain gate expansion project.

The newly completed mountain gate has expanded the column spacing from 2.95m to 4.5m and increased the passage height from 2.9m to 4m, resolving visitor inconveniences and enabling rapid response in case of emergencies.

Meanwhile, the completion ceremony was attended by Osan City Mayor Lee Kwon-jae, Osan City Council Chairman Lee Sang-bok and city council members, Reverend Jung-ho (Chairman of Osan City Buddhist Temple Association), Reverend Seong-do (Abbot of Bojuksa), Fire Chief Jung Chan-young of Osan Fire Station, and Culture Center Director Jung Jin-heung, along with approximately 100 citizens.

In his congratulatory remarks, Mayor Lee Kwon-jae said, "The Doksan Fortress mountain gate, which is visited by more than 50,000 people annually, was narrow, and there were many voices about vulnerabilities in fire preparedness. I feel anew emotions at having reconstructed the mountain gate as a result of conducting proactive administration together with public officials," and added, "Doksan Fortress and Semat-daejigi are precious assets connected to the 17km colorful circular trail. By constructing a lake park including a deck at Serang Reservoir and linking it together, I will increase its value so that it becomes a true representative tourist destination of Osan."