Vestige of Joseon’s last prince to be temporary shelter

The Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka in Tokyo, which bears traces of the royal family of the Korean Empire, will be used as a shelter for victims of the massive earthquake in Japan before its demolition.

Japanese media said Friday that the hotel, which will be closed late this month, will provide its 700 rooms for residents of Fukushima Prefecture who fled from the earthquake for three months before the demolition begins in late June. The hotel can accommodate 1,600 people.

Known as “Aka Pri,” the hotel was built in 1930 as a two-story building by Japan for Yeongchin, the Joseon Dynasty’s last crown prince and his wife. It was renovated into a hotel in 1955 and reconstructed into a 40-story building in 1983. The original two-story mansion houses a French restaurant and is used as a wedding banquet hall.

The hotel has also served as a behind-the-scene stage for modern Japanese politics, with influential members of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan having faction offices in the hotel. Lee Gu, the second son of Yeongchin, was born in 1931 in the mansion and died in one of the hotel`s rooms in 2005.

The towering hotel in the heart of Tokyo was once popular with celebrities as a wedding hall, but its reputation waned as foreign hotels entered Japan. Seibu Holdings, which operates the hotel, announced in April last year its plan to close the hotel.

Despite the demolition of the hotel, however, the mansion will remain intact.

jkmas@donga.com