Between 1948 and 2022, the "Blue House" (officially, Cheong Wa Dae) was the official residence of the president of South Korea. And with roots dating back to the 12th century, the complex represents both the modern South Korean state and also harkens back to when Korea was a unified peninsula and people.
As the executive residence, it also features in many North Korean attempts to either overthrow the South Korean government or to invade and occupy the South. While researching for the Military Operations in Urban Terrain: Redux article, I discovered what I believe to be a previously unknown Blue House replica located between Pyongyang and Sangwon.
Since the 1960s, there have been (at least) three Blue House replicas constructed in North Korea that have been used to train DPRK special operations forces. I'd like to go into a bit more detail on the topic and have a single article that focuses solely on them.
North Korea's Original Blue House Model
In 1967-68, members of the Korean Peoples' Army (KPA) Unit 124 trained at a specially built full-scale replica of the Blue House to prepare for their infiltration of South Korea and raid on the real Blue House in an attempt to assassinate the South Korean president.
The real Blue House is comprised of a central building that is ~66 meters long with two smaller wings and a central portico. The structure has a footprint of ~5,000 square meters and is approximately twice the size of the White House in total floor area (excluding the modern office wings). And its roof is covered in 150,000 blue tiles, thus its name.
Its internal layout was guarded information and even today, many of the diagrams online are simplified. It's likely KPA Unit 124 only knew about a few of the main rooms and corridors, but not the full blueprints. Regardless, having a full-scale exterior model to train with, even if not entirely accurate, would have been beneficial. Afterall, they were after the president's office, not kitchen staff.
KPA Unit 124 was headquartered in Yonsan County (38.872594° 126.255392°). Today, there aren't many military facilities in the county and no major training sites, either. However, special operations forces units don't require sprawling facilities and there is no reason that the Blue House model would still exist 57 years later, especially since the 1968 raid was a failure.
So while I can't identify the precise location of the training grounds (nor do I know if Unit 124 still exists or was disbanded after the raid), the area around Yonsan is extremely hilly and has many valleys that could have easily held (and hidden) a special training complex for what would have been among the most secret activities ever planned and carried out by North Korea.
The 1968 raid resulted in failure and cost the lives of 30 South Korean and U.S. personnel and 29 North Korean commandos. Two of the attackers survived.
Naturally, I would love to have more information about what this replica looked like, the training that took place, and even get a more accurate idea of where it was located. However, one survivor, Pak Jae-gyong, managed to make it back to North Korea without getting caught. He is presumed to still be alive at the age of 91. The other, Kim Shin-jo, was captured and lived out the rest of his life near Seoul. Kim died recently on April 9 at the age of 83.
2016 Scale Model
The most well-known Blue House replica was constructed in April 2016 at 38.928852° 125.924206°. It was a half-scale model of the mansion, with both wings and the portico. It even had a partially reproduced front garden and walkway.
At least two training exercises were carried out at the replica, the first in December 2016. These involved special operations forces parachuting down and storming the building.
The building currently sits abandoned (within a large military exercise ground) and in a nearly totally destroyed state.
Undescribed Sangwon Model
Located at 38.899689° 125.943280°, just 3.6 km south of the 2016 model, is yet another apparent replica. To my knowledge, it was previously undescribed and I was the first person to highlight it back in March on by BlueSky account.
The nearest large town to it is Sangwon, and the replica is positioned within an elite military training complex and was constructed in 2022. It was built to 1/3rd scale and only includes the central building and portico but no wing structures. There is also a small underground entrance but that has its roots dating to 2014 and served as the entrance to a small bunker of some kind.
I've identified it as a scale model of the Blue House because, despite not being a complete replica, the structure's roofline is in the identical traditional Korean style, it has the same color tiles, a central portico, and central walkway like the actual building. Additionally, traditional styled buildings are not common within military bases.
The base in which the model is located covers 178 hectares, and it is located next to another military training facility. The base was substantially renovated in 2014/15. It is also fully enclosed by perimeter fence with guard posts that were added in 2022. This is somewhat uncommon as most military bases only have partial security like an entrance gate but not a complete fence circuit.
Also of interest near this site is a paratrooper training center two kilometers to the east.
The existence of this model underscores North Korea's continued interest in special operations against the South Korean government and raises questions about what previously unknown "decapitation strike" activities the DPRK has planned or attempted to carry out.
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