Cheongwadae is the Korean presidential residence and regarded as the heart of the country. It is comprised of the Main Building which houses the presidential office, reception rooms, conference rooms and living quarters; annexes for Chunchugwan and Yeongbingwan, the Secretariat and Security Service Office; and gardens and ponds in front and in the back. The two-storied granite Main Building is covered with blue roof tiles, from which the name of Cheongwadae was derived (“Cheongwa” means blue roof tile in Korean).
The site of Cheongwadae was once home to a royal villa, a palace where queens-to-be were invited to stay during the royal wedding ceremonies of kings and crown princes during the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) as home to the back garden of Gyeongbokgung (Palace)where several pavilions were built during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). However, most of the buildings were demolished by Japanese imperialists during the period of Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945) and the official residence of the Japanese Governor-General of Korea was built in their place.
When the Republic of Korea was founded in the wake of the country’s liberation, the country's first President, Syngman Rhee (1875-1965) named the compound “Gyeongmudae” and began to use it as a presidential office and residence. The name of the presidential compound was officially changed to Cheongwadae in December 1960 by the acting president at the time, President Yun Po-sun. Subsequently, the current main building and residence quarters were built in 1991 and thereafter, the former main building Gyeongmudae was demolished in 1993.