Suwon’s hidden gems

Not far from the western exit of Suwon Station, where the land has been farmed from time immemorial, sits a humble traditional hanok house and the nearby remnants of one of Korea’s early industrial developments. The house in Pyeong-dong, Suwon, now more than 100 years old, has been beautifully rebuilt using many of the original materials. Inside the house, some of the family’s original furnishings are on display in the very rooms where they were originally used. The typical “L” shaped configuration includes two main rooms, a wood-floored room called a "maru," a kitchen and a side room for storage and food preparation. Also on the property were an outbuilding for storage and additional living space, and a 1950s western-style two-story house built for the growing family. The western-style house has since been razed and the outbuilding has been converted into a museum, which displays family heirlooms and photos.

This was the home of Choi Hak-bae, patriarch of the family that controls the SK conglomerate. Built in 1921, the house was the birthplace of the first two chairmen of Sunkyong Group, which became SK Group. The property is now known as the “SK Heritage House.” SK Group owns and operates the heritage property, which is open to the public for tours during regular business hours. Groups are welcome, and several interactive displays are available for all ages.

About 100 meters from the house is a small park where Sunkyong Textiles' first factories were built. The park, site of the Suwon Sunkyong Industrial Museum, features two historic buildings from the original factory — the two-story office building from which SK Group had its humble beginnings and an administration building, where displays from the old factory are housed. Both buildings were restored by SK Group and donated to the city of Suwon. The Suwon Sunkyong Industrial Museum is operated by the Suwon Special City Culture and Arts Division.

The second-floor president’s office is where the founding chairman Choi Jongkun directed his company and preserves the original furniture. Replicas of his business card, and that of his successor and younger brother, Chey Jonghyon are given to visitors. The museum shop also has 3-D puzzles that, when assembled, show the office building. Kids are sure to love that!

I am grateful to Oh Dong-geon, a life member of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea and a staff member at the office building museum, who served as my tour guide for the day. Thanks, too, to the museum director Bae Kyung-ah for organizing the day and helping with transportation to and from the train station. I also appreciated the kindness and knowledge of Ms. Park Sunhee at SK Heritage House. The day was informative and well spent.

The old factories are gone and SK Group has moved far beyond its textile-weaving roots, but the impact SK had on the neighborhood and the regional development of the Suwon area cannot be understated. In the aftermath of the Korean War, many abandoned Japanese properties throughout the country were recycled for use by Korean businesses to help build the economy. Chairman Choi Jong-kun took some of the old weaving equipment and began a textile business that grew rapidly over the succeeding years.

When electricity was scarce in the 1950s and factory machines couldn’t operate, Choi set up a training program for his staff to teach them to read and write Hangeul, which had been suppressed by the Japanese. Later, the company sponsored the popular "Scholarship Quiz” on TV, which featured hundreds of high school students competing academically over the course of its three decades on the air.

No longer a Suwon-based textile factory, SK has become Korea’s second-largest conglomerate, with far-reaching business interests in energy, telecommunications, chemicals and high-tech materials. Yet its humble beginnings in a small farming village in west Suwon are not forgotten.

Though Suwon is best known these days for its impressive 18th-century fortress and palace, these two gems of the city’s modern history are well worth a visit. Korea’s modern history is one of fantastic economic development, transforming the country from a war-torn backwater to one of the world’s foremost technological centers.

Rev. Steven L. Shields, FRAS {slshields@gmail.com} has lived in Korea for many years, beginning in the 1970s. A Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, he is also a life member of the Royal Asiatic Society of Korea, of which he was a director, vice president, and president. He was a copy editor of The Korea Times in 1977. The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Korea Times’ editorial stance.