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South Korea and the U.S. have become close neighbors in Beijing, where the new American mission compound will be dedicated at 8 a.m. on Friday, the opening day of the Beijing Olympics. The U.S. government has spent US$434 million, the most ever for an embassy overseas.
The new compound sits across an alley from the South Korean Embassy near Ladies' Street in Liangmahe neighborhood. The old U.S. Embassy was south of the North Korean Embassy near Ritan Park in downtown Beijing.
The new embassy covers an area of 56,460 sq. m, about three times the size of the South Korean Embassy and the largest foreign mission in China.
While the South Korean Embassy, dedicated in October 2006, is a five-story building, the new U.S. Embassy consists of five separate buildings, including the eight-story main chancery. The buildings have almost no windows for security reasons. The outer wall of the main building is covered with semi-transparent glass. Most of the building materials were imported from the U.S.
The area where the South Korean and U.S. embassies are located is a special security zone for the Chinese police.
The Beijing Youth Daily reported the new embassy also chose ¡°888¡± -- 8 a.m. on Aug. 8., 2008 for good luck, like the Olympics, which start at 8 p.m.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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