Strolling through Gunsan

By Lee Sun-ho

Out of all the diverse local trips I took during the last few decades, Gunsan City, the prime port in North Jeolla Province was an exception. I had not put my feet on-site to fact-check until April 6-7 of this year. As one of 38 octogenarian coed high school classmates reunited and traveling on a bus, I was, at last, able to touch down on the azalea-blossomed southwestern region in early spring.

At first glance, Gunsan was a combination of both modern and contemporary Korean history, representing past legacies and ongoing transformation.

Located on the fertile southwestern Honam plain, where a lot of rice is harvested, Gunsan became the major port along the Yellow Sea for shipping rice to Japan from the late 19th century until 1945.

Gunsan's central district hosted well-preserved vested property remains of the Japanese colonial period (1910-45), which were later taken by U.S. military authorities.

The Japanese-style house was constructed by Kichishaburo Hiroth (1878-1949). He joined the Ching-Japanese War (1894-95) as an interpreter and again the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) as an agent, ironically. He nevertheless left valuable architectural pieces such as the roof, finishing touches of the outer wall and the inner garden as they were when first built.

Lee Sung Dang is the oldest bakery (established by Lee Suk-ho from Namwon in 1945) in Korea. Its origin could be traced back to the Izmo-ya opened by Yastaro Hirose who migrated to Gunsan from Shimane Prefecture in 1906.

Donghak Temple, a shrine built in the Japanese style, the Gunsan Modern History Museum, the Honam Customs House, Gunsan Airbase, which were originally constructed in around 1923 and the Gyeongam-dong railroad town maintaining rail tiles painted in rainbow colors are all likely to have once been outdoor museum displays erected during the Japanese colonial period.

It is encouraging for me to hear that both General Motors car assembly plant and Hyundai's shipyard may be re-operated soon for the survival of the local economy. In unison with the inherited industries at sea and on land, Gunsan can prosper hereafter through its own efforts.

Comprising 63 islands (47 uninhabited) in Gunsan, Gogunsan Archipelago includes five attractive islands. Among them, the spectacular is Seonyu-do Island, with its 152-meter-high rugged Mangju-bong Peak, accessible by bus since 2017 instead of by ship.

The vast northern reclaimed land ― thanks to the world's longest seawall, the 33.9-km-long Saemangeum seawall ― Gunsan Free Economic Zone can eventually further enlarge the city area. The new port in Gunsan will benefit its 262,000 citizens. I imagine that the 124-year-old port city will eventually prosper with the opening of Saemangeum's new harbor slated for 2026.

Interestingly, Gunsan is twinned with Gangnam district, my dwelling area in Seoul. Its other sister cities include Tacoma (U.S.), Yantai (China), Windsor (Canada) and Jamshedpur (India). The designation of the city's flower as camellia, tree as ginkgo and bird as seagull symbolizes Gunsan's opening as a port in 1899 and its promotion as a city in 1914.

My belated April tour of Gunsan made me think of the needs and wants to upgrade Gunsan's own values by utilizing its native assets. I am sure the patriotic local people can make their hometown better by shaping the natural and artificial endowments of Gunsan as a mixed melting pot of its past and future.

The writer (wkexim@naver.com) is a freelance columnist living in Seoul.