Gimcheon High School Main Building and Old Science Building Designated as Cultural Heritage

'Suwon Station Water Tower', 'Old Busan Leprosy Hospital Monument', and Magazine 'Buddhism' Also Registered as Cultural Heritage

Gimcheon High School Main Building

The main building of Gimcheon High School, designed by Park Gil-ryong (1898?1943), a pioneer of modern Korean architecture, has been designated as a cultural heritage site.

On the 4th, the Cultural Heritage Administration announced the registration of five sites as cultural heritage: ‘Gimcheon High School Main Building (No. 778)’, ‘Gimcheon High School Old Science Building (No. 779)’, ‘Suwon Station Water Tower (No. 780)’, ‘Old Busan Leprosy Hospital Monument (No. 781)’, and the magazine ‘Buddhism (No. 782)’. The main building of Gimcheon High School was established in 1931 by Choi Songsul-dang (崔松雪堂) with the purpose of fostering national spirit. It holds high value as the main building of a representative private school in the Gimcheon area and as a work of Park Gil-ryong.

Former Science Building of Gimcheon High School

The adjacent old science building of Gimcheon High School also well represents the characteristics of modern school architecture from the 1930s. Both the interior and exterior spaces have preserved their original form since construction, highlighting the need for preservation.

Suwon Station Water Tower

The Suwon Station Water Tower refers collectively to the water towers of the 1930s era national railway (Gukcheol, 國鐵) broad-gauge railway and the private railway (Sacheol, 私鐵) narrow-gauge railway. It is highly valuable as a railway heritage site because it allows simultaneous observation of changes in water towers of both national and private railways.

Old Busan Leprosy Hospital Monument

The Old Busan Leprosy Hospital Monument was created in 1930 to commemorate the establishment of ‘Busan Leprosy Hospital,’ the first leprosy hospital in Korea. It provides an opportunity to reflect on the history of Hansen’s disease treatment and missionary work in the specialized medical field, as well as the existence and human rights of Hansen’s disease patients who lived isolated from the general public.

Magazine 'Buddhism' Article 'Reform Plans of Joseon Buddhism'

‘Buddhism’ is a representative comprehensive Buddhist magazine that was first published in 1924. It ceased publication in 1933 but was resumed and published from 1937 to 1944. Edited mainly with contributions from key figures in the Buddhist community at the time, it offers insight into the realities of the Buddhist world during the Japanese colonial period. Notable examples include editorials criticizing Japanese religious interference such as ‘Separate Politics and Religion (September 1931)’ and ‘Reform Plan for Korean Buddhism (October 1931)’. Han Yong-un was responsible for editing and publishing at that time. The Cultural Heritage Administration explained, “All issues from the first to the last are preserved, providing completeness. It is an important resource for modern Buddhist studies as it reveals the Japanese Buddhist policy and the Buddhist community’s response.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.